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Markets opened on a flat note this Monday ahead of fourth quarter earnings season, which begins with Infosys results on Friday.
Industrial production numbers, which is due on Friday, may also have some impact on the trading sentiment this week as IIP data is likely to be a key input for RBI's next policy review on May 3.
At 9:15AM, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex rose 5.57 points at 18,455.80 while the National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty shed 2.75 points at 5,550.50.
Global risk appetite was frail weighed on by a weaker-than-expected U.S. employment reading which raised concerns over growth recovery in the world's largest economy.
U.S. employers hired at the slowest pace in nine months in March, adding just 88,000 nonfarm jobs, the Labor Department said, below an expected 200,000.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.16% to 2,199, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.01% to 21,725, Singapore’s Straits Times declined 0.22% to 3,299 while Japan’s Nikkei gained 2% to 13,091.
Back home, the key sectoral indices such as healthcare, banks, capital; goods declined while auto, realty, power gained on BSE.
The broader markets were positive with mid-caps and small-caps gaining nearly 0.1% on BSE.
The market breadth was positive. Out of 452 stocks traded, 304 stocks gained compared to 131 declines on BSE.
