Indian shares opened flat on Friday on caution ahead of inflation data scheduled later today that is likely to decide the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy stance next week.
Market experts fear inflation may quicken from 7.45% in October as a weak currency pushed up the price of imported fuel.
At 10AM, the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex index rose 5 points and traded at 19,234 while the National Stock Exchnage's Nifty-50 index dropped 2 points to 5,849.
U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday as uncertainty over the nation’s fiscal policy overshadowed upbeat economic data and moves by global central banks. The Dow dropped 75 points while Nasdaq shed 22 points in trade.
Asian shares also traded mixed as positive China's flash purchasing managers' index for December hit a 14-month high, however, gains were capped over looming US fiscal cliff woes.
China's Shanghai Composite gained 3% to 2,119, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.5% to 22,564, Singapore's Straits Times gained 0.2% to 3,163 while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.1% to 9,734.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index outside Japan fell 0.04% to 901 in morning trades.
Back home, capital goods, real-estate, autos and metal indexes rose while consumer durables, banks and fast moving consumer goods sector led declines on BSE.
Among key Sensex stocks, in technology space, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys gained 0.4-1% while among automobiles, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra rose nearly 0.5% on BSE. The laggards include, ITC which fell 1%, ICICI Bank dropped 0.3% while Bahrti Airtel was down 0.1%.
Bharti Airtel, country's biggest mobile-phone operator's arm, Bharti Infratel's initial public offering for up to $830 million was fully covered on Thursday amid lukewarm response from retail and NIIs..
The other notable movers include, Shares of fertiliser companies rallied up to 18% in opening deals after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on Thursday, approved a urea investment policy, which is likely to incentives fertilizer companies to set up new plants and expand existing capacity.
Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) has rallied 18% to Rs 32.60 on the BSE. National Fertilisers, RCF, Chambal Fertilisers, GSFC and Deepak Fertiliser are trading higher by 2-5%.
Public sectors banks such as Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank fell 0.5-1.5% after the rating agency Moody's revised the rating outlook to negative from stable due to worsening asset quality.
ABG Shipyard gained 2% after the company has bagged a repeat order worth Rs 485 crore from the Ministry of Defence for building an additional cadet training vessel for the Indian Navy.
Honeywell Automation India has dipped almost 7% in opening deals after its promoter - Honeywell Asia Pacific Inc. - fixed the floor price for the offer-for-sale (OFS) at Rs 2,150, a 10% discount to Thursday’s closing on the BSE.
The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose by nearly 0.3-0.4%.
The overall breadth is positive as 956 stocks have advanced while 731 stocks declined on the BSE.
