Markets flat in morning deals

Sensex opens higher by 16 points

Markets continue to trade on a flat note in the morniong deals on the back of subdued global cues. The Sensex is up 14 points at 19,438 and the 50-share Nifty has advanced 3 points to 5,910 levels.

Meanwhile, on the sectoral front, the BSE realty index has emerged as the top gainer, up 1.3% or 28 points at 2,130 levels. Power, healthcare, beankex and PSU indices are also up 0.3% each. While, the BSE metal index is the top loser, down 0.5% at 10,517. FMCG, and teck indices are also trading marginally in the red.

Among the individual stocks, TTK Healthcare has rallied almost 5% at Rs 508, extending its two-week long rally on reports that the pharmaceutical company is planning to merge TTK-LIG into itself.  The stock has outperformed the market by gaining about 27% in past ten trading sessions on the BSE as compared to 5% rise in benchmark Sensex.

Shares in Sesa Goa fell 2% after a panel appointed by India's top court recommended scrapping 42 iron ore mining leases in Goa until mining companies submit plans to deal with the environmental impact and the legal details involved, a lawyer who attended the hearings said.

Shares of sugar manufacturing companies are under pressure in early morning trades on reports that the Uttar Pradesh (UP) has increased State Advised Price (SAP) for sugarcane procurement by more than 15% to Rs 275-290 a quintal for 2012-13 compared to last year. SAP is the price below which mills cannot buy cane from farmers.
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(Updated at 9.20 AM)

The markets have opened on a flat note tracking sdubdued global cues. The Sensex has advanced 18 points to open at 19,442 and the 50-share Nifty has advanced 3 points to open at 5,910 levels.

Asian shares crept higher on Monday as investors took heart from economic data from China and the United States that raised hopes about the outlook for growth in the world's top two economies.

The euro was under pressure, having been knocked by the prospect of a recession in Germany and political uncertainty in Italy after technocratic Prime Minister Mario Monti, an investors' favourite, said at the weekend he intended to resign early.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, while Tokyo's Nikkei share average gained 0.4%.

The Hang Seng advanced 87 points to open at 22,277, Shanghai Composite gained 8 points to open at 2,069 and the Nikkei jumped 24 points to 9,550 levels.

In the US markets, stocks posted a modest gain in thin, volatile trading as the weekly jobless claims slipped by 25,000 and ahead of the monthly government jobs report due today. Investors remained cautious about the looming "fiscal cliff" issue.

Nasdaq closed with half a percent gain following recovery in Apple. The CBOE volatility index closed above 16.

Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% or 39.55 points at 13074.04. Nasdaq Composite rose 0.52% or 15.57 points at 2989.27. Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.33% or 4.66 points.

Back home, Wipro is the top Sensex gainer. The stock has advanced 2% to Rs 387. Tata Motors, BHEL, Cipla, infosys, Coal India, HUL, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel are also among the gainers, up 0.2-1.2% each.

On the other hand, Sterlite Industries, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Hindalco, Reliance Industries, GAIL India and HDFC Bank are among the laggards, down 0.2-2% each.

On the sectoral front, the BSE IT index is the top gainer, up 0.5% at 5,670. Consumer durables, realty, power, auto and heralthcare indices are also trading flat with a positive bias. While, metal, oil & gas, PSU and FMCG indices are down 0.1-1.5% each.

The broader markets are trading flat with the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices up 0.3% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 942 stocks are advancing while 465 are declining.