Benchmark share indices were trading flat as gains in private bankers helped offset losses in index heavyweight Reliance Industries in addition to Tata Motors and SBI.
At 12:48PM, the 30-share Sensex at 17,124, up 19 points and the 50-share Nifty at 5,196, up 3 points.
Asian shares remained lacklustre on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a gloomy view of the U.S. economy, but hopes that the central bank is moving closer to more stimulus measures limited the day's losses. Chinese shares underperformed the region, dragged down by property plays after data showing another year-on-year dip in home prices spurred profit-taking in one of this year's biggest outperformers in Asia. The Hang Seng was down 1.2% and Nikkei slipped 0.3% while Shanghai Composite was marginally up by 0.2%.
The rupee was trading lower by 18 paise at 55.29 against the American currency in the late morning trade on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers.
On the sectoral front, BSE Metal, IT and Bankex were the top gainers while Auto, Oil & Gas were among the top losers.
On the Sensex, Tata Motors is the most prominent loser, down 2% at Rs 221. Tata Motors has dipped almost 3% at Rs 220 after turning ex-dividend today for dividend of Rs 4 per share for the year ended 31 March 2012. The dividend shall be paid / dispatched on and after August 14, 2012.
Reliance Industries was down 0.6%. Reliance Industries and its British partner BP Plc have warned that eastern offshore KG-D6 gas fields will stop producing in 2015 unless the government approves investments needed to keep the nation's largest gas fields alive.
Bharti Airtel was down nearly 1%. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) today asked the Department of Telecom to prepare a matrix of reserve price of spectrum auction and its impact on tariffs and revenue to the government.
Among the gainers, Bajaj Auto was up 1.8%. Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto reported an almost flat net profit of Rs 718 crore for the quarter that concluded in June 2012. It was Rs 711 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Total income marginally decreased by 4% to Rs 4,850 crore as against Rs 5,048 crore in June 2011.
Coal India was up 1.6% after foreign brokerage CLSA upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "underperform" and raises its target price to Rs 390 from Rs 340. CLSA said production has improved "substantially" in the April-June quarter and sees a "high" probability that fiscal 2012/13 targets will be met.
Among the private bankers ICICI Bank was up 1.3% while HDFC Bank and HDFC were up 0.5% each. Infosys was up 0.5% on value buying at lower levels after the stock witnessed selling pressure last week following a lower dollar revenue guidance for FY13.
Among individual stocks, Cadila Healthcare was up 3.9% at Rs 869 after Credit Suisse initiates coverage on Cadila Healthcare with an "outperform" rating and a target price of Rs 970. Investment bank says the midcap drug maker has demonstrated "strong execution" in the United States, with a portfolio mix focusing on low competition products such as nasal sprays and injectable drugs.
The broader markets were also trading with marginal gains. The overall market breadth is negative as 1353 stocks have declined against 1,119 advances, on the BSE.
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