The markets have opened on a flat note ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget today. The Sensex has now moved up to 17,727 - up 51 points. Nifty is up 20 points at 5,400.
Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4% to 13,253 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 0.6% to 1,403 at close.
Asian shares steadied on Friday and the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was barely changed and Japan's Nikkei opened down 0.1%.
Most of the sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note this morning. BSE realty index has gained 1%, followed by power, capital goods and bankex. Meanwhile, the consumer durables and auto indices have slipped 1% each to 6,545 and 10,046, respectively.
Auto shares are leading the losses this morning. Tata Motors has dipped 2%, followed by Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto. Market heavyweight - Reliance, has slipped 1% at Rs 791.
On the other hand, BHEL and DLF have added 2% each. HDFC Bank has added 1%, followed by IT shares - Wipro and TCS. ICICI Bank, ITC and HDFC are the other gainers.
Among individual stocks, oil companies like HPCL, BPCL and IOC have gained around 1% each. Meanwhile, aviation stocks are up on reports that the state-owned oil companies have hiked jet fuel price by 2%, the second increase in rates this month. Jet AIrways is up 0.7% at Rs 332. Kingfisher has added 3%.
SKS Microfinance plans to raise around RS 200 crore through securitisation from two different banks. The stock is up 0.5% at Rs 141.
Global power equipment and wind turbine majors Alstom, Siemens and GE are negotiating with Suzlon Energy for a possible buyout of its German subsidiary Repower, reports suggest. Suzlon has surged 2.4% at Rs 29.50.
The market breadth on the BSE wsa positive with 1,089 gainers and 614 stocks declining.
