Markets remain subdued, FMCG weighs

HUL, ITC, RIL and Infosys top Sensex losers

Markets continue to trade flat with negative bias in late morning deals weighed down by profit taking in FMCG majors and index heavyweights.

At 11:30AM, the Sensex was down 11 points at 18,494 and the 50-share Nifty has slipped 3 points to 5,617.

Major Asian shares indices were trading with gains on Thursday after China October PMI increased to 50.2 in October from 49.8 September indicating expansion in manufactuing activity. The Nikkei was up 0.1% as investors booked profits after yesterday's rally. Shanghai Composite was up 1.7% and Hang Seng was up 0.6%.

Meanwhile, India'a manufacturing growth inched up in October from September's 10-month low, supported by a pick up in new orders and an easing of price pressures, a survey released on Thursday showed.

The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges the business activity of India's factories but not its utilities, nudged up to 52.9 in October from 52.8 in September.

Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, FMCG, Oil and Gas were the top losers while Consumer Durables and Auto indices were the top gainers.

FMCG majors Hindustan Unilever and ITC which recently touched their 52-week highs witnessed profit taking at higher levels as current valuations seems to be stretched. ITC was down 1.6% while HUL was down 2.7% after the stock turned ex-dividend today.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down nearly 1% after India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the company made undue gains and called for cancellation of all contracts awarded to RIL.

Among other Sensex losers, Infosys and ONGC were both down nearly 1% each.

Tata Motors was the top Sensex gainer up 3.3% at Rs 263 after global investment bank Goldman Sachs said that the stock will become multi-bagger in next four years.

Wipro was up 4% after the IT major today said it will demerge three non-IT business divisions, including consumer products segment, into a privately-held company to be named Wipro Enterprises Ltd.

Bhartil Airtel was up 2.3% ahead of the Empowered Group of Ministers meeting later today on incumbent operators' spectrum refarming.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,424 gainers and 918 losers on the BSE.