Markets trading on a listless note

Overall breadth is neutral as 1,177 are advancing while 973 are declining

Markets are trading on a listless note in the morning deals ahead June inflation data which is to be announced later in the day today. The Sensex is up 3 points 17,216 and the Nifty is down 4 points at 5,223 levels.

Among the individual stocks,  Infosys is trading lower by 1.7% at Rs 2,190 on the National Stock Exchange in morning trades, its lowest level since September 2011.

Tata Steel has dipped almost 3% at Rs 415 on turning ex-dividend today.  The stock opened at Rs 418 and hit a low of Rs 414 on the National Stock Exchange.  A combined 7,91,109 shares have changed hands on the counter in morning trades on both the exchanges.

Lloyds Steel Industries has locked upper circuit of 5% at Rs 10.61 after Miglani Group made open offer to shareholders for buying 26% stake in the company at Rs 11.65, which is premium to the current price.
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(Updated at 9:15 AM)

Markets have opened on a flat note in trades today tracking flat global cues. The Sensex has advanced 67 points to open at 17,280 and the 50-share Nifty has jumped 16 points to open at 5,243 levels.

The Asian markets were also trading on a flat note as fears of an economic hard landing in China subsided, with last week's softer growth data within expectations and Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday raising the prospects of more policy stimulus if needed. Hang Seng, Nikkei and Shanghai were trading marginally higher while Shanghai Composite was down 21 points at 2,165 levels.

Back home,  on the macro economic front inflation numbers for the month of June are to be announced later in the day today.

Bharti Airtel is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. It has opened higher by 1.5% at Rs 312. State Bank of India, Gail India, Hindalco, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HUL and Tata Motors have also opened higher by 0.6-0.8% each. On the other hand, Tata Steel Jindal Steel, Gail India, Tata Power, TCS, Sterlite Industries and ONGC are among the loser on the Sensex.

All the sectoral indices have opened on a flat note. BSE Capital goods index with gain of 0.3% is the top sectoral gainer. Realty, bankex, auto, consumer durables, healtcare and FMCG indices are also trading flat, up 0.2-0.3% each. At the same time, metal, power and IT indices have opened lower in the opening deals.

Among the individual stocks, MindTree Limited has rallied 6% to Rs 695 after reporting a better-than-expected 30.9% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth in net profit growth at Rs 89 crore for the quarter ended June 2012 led by forex gains. Revenues grew 7.1% at Rs 563 crore on q-o-q basis. During the quarter, company earning forex gain of Rs 8.6 crore.

The broader markets are in line with the bechmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices have advanced 0.3% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 714 stocks are advancing while 435 are declining.