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Benchmark indices have turned flat after trimming early gains as losses in select index heavyweights like HDFC and Infosys have limited the gains in capital goods and auto stocks.
At 11:47AM, the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty were flat at the mark of 27,912 and 8,391 respectively.
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have performed better than the front-liners with gains of around 0.6% and 0.7% each. Market breadth in BSE is positive with 1,580 advances against 912 declines.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 260 crore on Friday, as per provisional data released by the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Buzzing Stocks
BSE Auto index, up 1.5%, has gained the most followed by BSE Consumer Durables index, up 1.2% and BSE Capital Goods index, up 1.1%. BSE IT, Power and Teck indices have lost around 0.3% each.
Capital Goods stocks have gained on robust PMI data for the month of December which was at its highest since end-2012 though BHEL is trading lower by 0.3% after paring early gains. Larsen and Toubro has gained around 2% after the company said it has won orders worth of Rs 4,006 crore in the month of December 2014. Also, Citi upgraded L&T stock to buy from neutral citing an expected turn around in the company's defence manufacturing business on the back of large defence orders the company has received.
Auto stocks are in focus today as the release of sales volume data for the month of December has commenced. Tata Motors has gained around 2%. On Friday, Tata Motors reported a 10% increase in total sales at 41,734 units in December, as against 37,836 units in the same month last year.
Maruti Suzuki has gained around 3%. The company reported 21% growth in sales during December 2014 compared to the same month last year. Also, CLSA has retained Maruti Suzuki as top auto pick in 2015 citing new products, improvements in pricing and large margin expansion of yen among other factors which are likely to help the company to reap larger profits in 2015.
Among other auto stocks, Hero Motocorp and M&M have gained around 0.8% and 1.5% each.
Index listed metal stocks are trading mixed. Sesa Sterlite and Tata Steel have gained 0.8% and 1.7% each while Hindalco has shed around 0.3%.
Financials too are trading mixed. While ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have gained 0.9% and 0.7% each, HDFC twins and SBI have declined. SBI is lower by 0.4%. In a release to BSE, SBI has said that United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has given a notice to Indian Banks'' Association calling for nationwide Bank strike, on the 7th and 21st to 24th January 2015. Since the call is for nationwide all-Banks strike, the SBI will not be separately impacted, if the strike materialises.
Among other stocks, shares of Ashiana Housing are up over 8% after the company said that credit rating agency CARE has upgraded its credit rating.
