Markets remain cautious

Rate sensitive stocks witness selling pressure

Markets continue to trade on a flat note with a negative bias in the morning trades. The Sensex is up down 26 points at 16,854 and the 50-share Nifty has shed 11 points at 5,109 levels.

Meanwhile, the rate sensitive sector stocks are facing the heat of selling pressure ahead of the May WPI inflation announcement. The BSE realty, bankex and capital goods indices have shed 0.4-1.5% each in trades so far.

From the capital goods space space Jindal Saw, L&T, Punj Lloyd, BEML, Alstom Projects and Areva T&D are among the top losers.

Among the individual stocks, Moser Baer India is trading higher by 5% at Rs 9.55 after the company said it is looking to restructure foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) worth $150 million, maturing this month.

Hekel India has surged over 15% to Rs 28.50 after the company said that their board will meet on June 15 to consider the proposal of amalgamation of the company with Jyothy Laboratories.

The broader markets are in line withe the benchmark indices. The mid-cap index is down 9 points at 5,991 and the small-cap index has gained 9 points to 6,374 levels.

The overall breadth is neutral as 939 stocks are advancing while 981 are declining.
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(Updated at 09.20 AM)

Markets have opened on a cautious note ahead of the May WPI inflation data which is to be announced later in the day today. The Sensex opened on a flat note with a negative bias, down 2 points at 16,879 and the 50-share Nifty has shed 3 points to open at 5,118 levels.

Overnight, the US markets ended lower as fears ahead of the Greek elections over the weekend drove down a market that had been treading water through most of the day. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.6% and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 0.7%.

The Asian markets are also trading on a weak note. Hang Seng, Shanghai and Nikkei are trading lower by 0.7% each.

Back home, Reuters poll has estimated that India's inflation may have accelerated at its fastest pace this year in May, driven by higher food and fuel prices, impeding chances of a rate cut by the RBI at its review next week.

The wholesale price index, India's main inflation gauge, is expected to rise 7.60 percent in May versus a year ago, compared with April's 7.23 percent, the poll of 31 analysts showed.

In the opening deals, Larsen & Toubro is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 1% to Rs 1,336. NTPC, Jindal Steel, State Bank of India, Hindalco, ONGC, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors are also trading lower by 0.3-0.9% each.

On the other hand, Gail India, Sterlite Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, Tata Power, Bajaj Auto and Coal India are among the gainers from the heavyweight pockets.

On the sectoral front, capital goods index is the top loser, down 59 points at 9,592 levels. Bankex, PSU, power, oil & gasa and metal indices are also among the losers. At the same time, some amount of buying is visible in the consumer durable stocks. The BSE consumer durable index is the top gainer, up 36 points at 6,163IT, FMCG, auto and realty indices have opened flat.

The broader markets have also opened flat. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices have advanced 0.2% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 667 stocks are advancing while 488 are declining.