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Markets fell flat in afternoon deals as gains in banking ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Wipro was offest by losses in ITC, HDFC and Sun Pharma.
At 2:37pm, the 30-share Sensex was trading flat with a positive bias at 22,330 and the 50-unit Nifty was trading flat at 6,654.
Top gainer at this hour include Cipla, Wipro, Tata Motors and Axis Bank which are trading 1-2% higher on the BSE while ITC, HDFC, Sun Pharma and Reliance
gave off 1%.
The broader markets were flat too; the BSE small-cap index was flat with a positive bias while mid-cap index was off marginally.
Among sectoral indices, FMCG, Realty, Capital Goods and Health Care indices edged lower by 0.3-1%.
Bankex, Auto and Consumer Durables indices were the only gainers, up 0.2-0.5%.
Cipla and Wipro up over 1% each were the top gainers among sensex-30.
Some of the notable scrips in green were SBI, BHEL, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ONGC and Bajaj Auto up 0.4-0.9%.
Meanwhile, ITC, Tata Power, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, HDFC and TCS were weak by 0.5-1.5%.
Index heavyweights, Infosys, L&T declined 0.3% each.
The market breadth w as negative on BSE. 1,312 stocks declined while 1,124 stocks advanced.
In individual names, Union Bank of India dipped over 7% to Rs 138 on the BSE, after the bank said its gross non-performing assets (NPAs), as a percentage of total assets, increased to 4.08% in the March quarter from 3.85% at the end of December quarter.
Shasun Pharmaceuticals is locked in upper circuit for second straight day, up 10% at Rs 165 on the NSE, after Morgan Stanley Asia bought nearly one per cent stake in the company for a total consideration of Rs 5.9 crore.
Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (P&G) rallied 5% to Rs 3,612 after reporting a strong 55% year-on-year (yoy) jump in net profit at Rs 80.76 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 (Q3), on the back of higher sales. The personal care products maker had reported a profit of Rs 52.09 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Rupee
The rupee is trading at 59.98/99 not far from 59.95 hit in early trade, which is its highest since April 9, as good corporate dollar sales aid the Indian unit. The rupee closed at 60.135/145 on Wednesday.
The retreat in the domestic share market from session highs and good demand for the greenback from oil firms around the 60 mark will limit the fall in the dollar to 59.90 levels at best, dealers say.
Asian Markets
Asian shares got a lift on Thursday from dovish comments by the US Federal Reserve chief and upbeat Chinese trade data that suggested some signs of stabilisation in the world's second-largest economy.
Risk assets were also underpinned by signs of easing tensions in Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin called on pro-Moscow separatists to postpone a secession vote.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average rose 0.9% while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5%, inching away from five-week lows hit on Wednesday.
