Markets trade flat, Sensex down 65 pts

The markets are trading on a flat note in the noon trades after having opened in the green, earlier today. The BSE Sensex has shed 66 points at 18,552 and the S&P Nifty is at 5,573, down 27 points as the markets continue to reel under selling pressure.

TCS has retained its spot as the top gainer on the Sensex at Rs 1,154, up 2.5% and is followed by NTPC and SBI.

The top losers on the Sensex are Tata Motors, Cipla, Sterlite Industries, and Hero Honda, down 2% each.

The sectoral indices are in line with the bourses as they continue to trade flat. The BSE IT index is at Rs 5,865, up 0.5% and BSE Realty and BSE TECk indices are up 0.3% ad 0.2%, respectively.

The BSE Auto, BSE Metal and BSE FMCG continue to lose on back of selling pressure. Tata Motors, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki are the top losers among the BSE Auto sector.

VST Industries has moved higher by 4% at Rs 1,140 after reporting a 90% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 34.22 crore for the first quarter ended June 2011.  The cigarettes and tobacco products maker reported a net profit of Rs 18.02 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The broader markets are witnessing mixed trades as thr BSE mid-cap index has shed 0.1% at 7,011 and the small-cap index has gained 0.23% at 9,739.

The overall market breadth is marginally positive as 1,322 stocks are advancing and 1,203 are declining out of a total of 2,2629 stocks on the BSE.

The Asian markets are trading on a mixed note as the Shanghai Composite index is up 0.2% at 2,817, the Nikkei is at 9,975, up 0.4% while the Hang Seng index has shed 0.3% at 21,886.