Auto shares firm up in a flat market; Tata Motors, M&M up 1%

Gains in auto shares contributed the most to Sensex gains along with pharma shares

Auto shares emerged as the top gainers amid listless trade even as profit taking in select index heavyweights capped upside gains.

At 10:40am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 11 points at 25,861 and the Nifty50 was unchanged at 7,866.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.3%-0.4% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,297 gainers and 788 losers on the BSE.

BSE Metal index continued to be the top sectoral gainer followed by Auto index among others. IT and Consumer Durables indices were trading with marginal losses.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

Auto shares were top gainers amid renewed buying interest. Tata Motors and M&M were up 1% each while in the two-wheeler space, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were up 0.3%-0.4% each.

Idea Cellular was up nearly 1% after the company announced the launch of fourth generation (4G) services in all four telecom service areas of South India on Wednesday.

Pharma shares also witnessed buying interest. Sun Pharma extended gains and was up 0.4% while Cipla and Lupin were up 0.7% each.

Among other shares, Tree House Education & Accessories and Zee Learn were trading lower on the bourses after the board of directors of both these companies approved scheme of amalgamation.
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(updated at 9:35am)
Markets trimmed early gains and were trading flat as gains in energy and metal shares failed to offset losses in index heavyweight Reliance Industries and information technology shares.

At 9:35am, the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex was down 1 point at 25,849 and the Nifty50 was down 5 points at 7,861.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.1%-0.2% each.

Market breadth was positive with 909 gainers and 304 losers on the BSE.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 386 crore, as per provisional stock exchange data.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US crude inventories have slipped by 5.88 million barrels to 484.78 million last week as against a forecast of rise by 1.4 million barrels.

Indian equity, forex, money and commodity markets will remain tomorrow on account of Christmas.

STOCK IN FOCUS

BSE Metal index was the top gainer up 1.1% followed by Healthcare, Auto and Capital Goods indices.

In the metal pack, Hindalco was up 1.4% while Vedanta gained 2.4%. However, Tata Steel witnessed profit taking and was trading flat.

Oil explorers gained after rebound in global crude oil prices. ONGC was among the top Sensex gainers up 1.7% while Cairn India was up 3%.

Other Sensex gainers include, ITC, ICICI Bank and Lupin among others.

IT shares witnessed profit taking after recent gains were among the top losers. TCS was down 0.4% while Infosys eased 0.1%.

Sensex losers include, index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 0.2%, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank were down 0.2%-0.4% each.

V-Mart Retail has rallied 17% to Rs 574 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved hike in investment limit by overseas investors.