Markets remain flat; Cipla, Bharti Airtel top gainers

Markets are trading flat with a positive bias as investors turned cautious ahead of the August CPI and July industrial production data to be released later during the day. Further, losses in Index heavyweights have limit gains on the benchmark indices.

 

At 11.35 AM, the 30-share Sensex is up 20 points at 27,013 and the 50-share Nifty is up 2 points at 8,088.

 

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index is trading flat and Small-cap index is up 0.4%.

 

 

Market breadth is strong with 1,454 gainers and 1,183 losers on the BSE.

 

Asian Markets:

 

Asian markets are trading mixed on the final trading day of the week, following an uninspiring US lead. The Nikkei extended gains and is up 0.1% while Straits Times and Shanghai Composite are up 0.04% and 0.3% each. However, shares in Hong Kong witnessed profit taking after sharp gains recently. The benchmark Hang Seng is down 0.4%.

 

Rupee:

 

The Indian rupee is trading marginally lower at Rs 60.97 against the US dollar compared to the previous close of Rs 60.92 tracking weak Asian currencies.

 

 

Further, foreign funds were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 433.55 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

 

Also, investors will look to next week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting for fresh guidance on US interest rates. At the end of a two-day meeting on 16-17 September 2014, the FOMC is widely expected to announce cut in Fed's monthly bond-buying program by another $10 billion to $15 billion, staying on track to end the program at its October meeting. The Fed is likely to raise short-term interest rates next year from their current near-zero levels, where they have been since December 2008.

 

Sectors & Stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durables is the top gaining index up 1.3% followed by FMCG and Auto indices. However, Power, Metal, IT and Healthcare indices are losing sheen on the BSE and are down between 0.3-1%. However, Capital Goods and Realty indices are trading flat.

 

In the metal and power space, Hindalco, Coal India, Tata Steel, NTPC and Tata Power are witnessing pressure after the SC reserved its verdict on the de-allocation of the coal blocks and have lost between 0.5-3%.

 

Drug maker Sun Pharma is trading 2.5% lower after the USFDA conducted a surprise inspection at its Halol unit in Gujarat. Further, is the company is looking to get shareholders' approval to raise qualified institutional placement (QIP) worth Rs 12,000 crore at its 27th annual general meeting to be held by the end of September. However, its peer Cipla is trading 2% up and is the top gainer of this hour.

 

The technology pack is trading weak with IT major Infosys and Wipro down 0.7% in the late morning trades.

 

In the financial segment, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI have lost 0.5% each.

 

RIL, ONGC and L&T are some of the prominent names in red among others.

 

On the flip side, shares of ITC which fell on media reports that the government might announce stringent measures on cigarettes have gained 1% on value buying. Also its peer HUL is up 0.7%.

 

Index Heavyweight Tata Motors is up 0.3% after Macquarie raised price target for the stock to 700 rupees from 540 rupees and says it expects Tata's earnings to double over three years from FY2014 to FY2017. Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto have gained between 0.7-1%.

 

Bharti Airtel, GAIL and HDFC are some of the notable names in green and have surged between 0.5-1.5%. 

 

Among other shares, Shares of Snowman Logistics are listed at Rs 76, a huge 62% premium against its issue price of Rs 47 per share, on National Stock Exchange (NSE).

 

Shares of Atul Auto are trading higher by 3% at Rs 413 in early morning deals on National Stock Exchange after the stock was quoted ex-stock split from today.