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Benchmark indices were swinging between the red and green in late morning trades as investors turned cautious ahead of the November F&O expiry today. Also, the economic growth data to be released tomorrow is keenly watched.
Early indications in the form of a Reuters poll suggest that India’s economic growth probably slowed to 5.1 percent in the July-September quarter from a year ago which would not be enough to persuade the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates just yet.
At 1125 hrs, the Sensex was down 17 points at 28,369 and the Nifty was down by a point at 8,475.
The outperformance in the broader markets was intact with the smallcap index up 0.6% and the midcap index up 0.5%.
All the rate sensitive sectoral indices were in red along with FMCG index which was the top sectoral loser, down 0.6%.
Meanwhile, other defensive pockets like IT and Health Care emerged as the top buy favorites, up 0.7% each.
Information technology shares witnessed fresh buying on back of positive macro-economic data from US, the primary markets for Indian IT majors. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were up 0.3-1.4% on BSE.
In the mean time, Infosys hit a fresh record high of Rs 4,363 in trade on NSE ahead of record date for bonus issue in ratio of 1:1
Sun Phrma, Cipla, Lupin and Dr Reddys were the top movers in the pharma space, up 0.3-1%.
Oil & gas shares are trading mixed ahead of the OPEC meeting. ONGC was down 0.5% while Relaince Industries was flat and GAIL was trading with a 0.5% gain.
Currency devaluation in Nigeria continues to weigh Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Auto. The stocks were down 2% and 0.5% respectively.
The top losers among Sensex-30 were ITC, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and L&T down 0.5-2%.
In individual names, 8K Miles Software Services was locked in upper circuit for second straight day, up 10% at Rs 626 after the company through its US subsidiary announced the acquisition of SERJ Solutions, a provider of innovative Epic EHR consulting, custom application development, and support solutions for the healthcare market.
The market breadth was positive on BSE. 1,420 stocks advanced while 1,062 stocks declined.
