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Benchmark shares indices ended flat, amid choppy trades, as investors shifted focus to fundamentally sound shares in the broader market.
Provisionally, the Sensex ended up 13 points at 28,457 and the Nifty gained 14 points to close at 8,539.
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(updated at 3.30 PM)Benchmark indices have slipped in the negative territory as weakness in technology stocks and select financials along with Index heavyweight ITC capped gains.
At 2.30 PM, the Sensex is down 56 points at 28,388 and the Nifty lost 9 points to trade at 8,516.
The broader markets attracted investor interest in today’s trade. The mid-and small-cap indices are up 1.6%% each.
Meanwhile, activity in India's services sector expanded at its fastest rate in five months in November on new order flows, but hiring declined for the first time in four months, showed the widely-tracked HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) data released on Wednesday.
The index rose to 52.6 points in November against 50 in the previous month. A reading at 50 separates expansion (above 50) and contraction (below 50).
Back home, the rupee is trading at 61.89 compared with Tuesday's 61.88/89 close. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 107 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
The Reserve Bank of India is "reasonably comfortable" with the current account deficit because of lower oil prices, deputy governor H R Khan said on Wednesday, after the country last week unexpectedly eased some rules on gold imports.
Global Markets
The dollar marked a fresh seven-year high against the yen on Wednesday, which helped lift the Nikkei to a similar closing record, while oil prices recovered on news of a drop in US supply.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down about 0.2%. But Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 0.3% higher, off its session highs but still closing at its highest level since July 2007.
European shares are trading higher in morning trade on Wednesday following the bullish trend set by markets in Asia and the U.S. CAC 40, FTSE and Dax are up between 0.1-0.3%.
Hot Stocks:
BSE Oil & Gas index is the top gainer up 1.5% followed by Power, Capital Goods, Auto and Realty indices trading higher by 1% each. However, BSE IT and FMCG are down 0.3% each.
Oil and Gas major ONGC is the top gainer and is up over 4%. CLSA has a buy rating on ONGC as the brokerage believes the stock is pricing in an extremely high 93% subsidy burden. "The actual proportion is likely to be much lower and risk-reward appears attractive at current levels. ONGC is one of the cheapest global exploration & production names and our top play on reforms. Clarity on the subsidy formula should drive a rerating."
With oil prices coming down and the domestic prices of petrol and diesel are purely market determined, the subsidy burden would be near zero on these two items in the second half believe analysts. Its peers GAIL and RIL have gained over 1% each.
With oil prices coming down and the domestic prices of petrol and diesel are purely market determined, the subsidy burden would be near zero on these two items in the second half believe analysts. Its peers GAIL and RIL have gained over 1% each.
BHEL has gained around 3.5%. The company has announced the successful commissioning of India's first phase shifting transformer at Kothagudem Thermal Power station in Telangana. It is a significant breakthrough for BHEL which is the largest manufacturers of transformers in the country. L&T is trading with marginal gains.
Auto shares are trading mixed. M&M has recovered from yesterday's lows and is trading with a gain of more than 1%. Tata Motors has gained around 0.8% on news that its prized acquisition Jaguar Land Rover has started to build a plant in Brazil. Maruti Suzuki has gained around 1% as the depreciation of yen is likely to benefit the company.
Among Financials, ICICI Bank has gained around 0.8%. Tomorrow the stock turns ex-stock split. SBI is trading with marginal gains. Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley informed the parliament about goverment's plans to decrease its stake in public sector banks to 52% in a phased manner.
Axis Bank has gained more than 1.4% while HDFC Bank and finance major HDFC are trading with losses of 0.2% and 1.5% each.
Sesa Sterlite, NTPC, HUL and Coal India are some of the prominent names in green among others.
Tata Steel is up 0.3%. After winning the battle in the Odisha High Court (HC), Tata Steel has got the order of the Odisha government for third renewal of its Sukinda chromite mines in Jajpur district.
Selling is evident in the technology pack. Infosys and TCS have lost between 0.5-1.2%. However, Wipro is trading with marginal gains. Cigarette maker and Index heavyweight ITC has shed nearly 1% in the noon trades.
