)
Markets came off their day's lows as gains in HDFC Bank and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever helped offset most of the losses in IT major TCS and select financials.
At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 10 points at 28,066 after touching an intra-day low of 27,945 and the 50-share Nifty was down 3 points at 8,491 after hitting a low of 8,452 in early trades.
The Indian rupee was trading slightly higher at 62.02 to the US dollar compared to Thursday's close of 62.06.
HUL was up nearly 2% after hitting a record high of Rs 944 in intra-day trade on BSE today. The stock has rallied 25% in past 10 trading sessions from Rs 756 on January 2, 2015.
HDFC Bank was also up nearly 2% contributing to most of the Sensex gains.
TCS, ITC, SBI, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were among the top Sensex losers.
Among other shares, SpiceJet is locked in upper circuit of 10% at Rs 20.50 on BSE with no sellers on the counter after Kalanithi Maran and his associates had decided to transfer the ownership and management control of the airline to former promoter Ajay Singh and a clutch of investors.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.6% and Small-cap index was up 0.3%.
Market breadth was strong with 1,194 gainers and 897 losers on the BSE.
_____________________________
(Updated at 9:35AM)
Markets contiued to trade with marginal losses weighed down by profit taking in select financials after sharp gains on Thursday following the rate cut by the RBI and IT major TCS post its third quarter earnings.
At 9:35AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 53 points at 28,022 and the 50-share Nifty was down 17 points at 8,477.
Yesterday, the Sensex gained 729 points to record its highest single-day gain since May 18, 2009 led by financials on expectations that further easing of interest rates would help spur growth.
The trade deficit for the month of December decreased by 44% at $9.43 billion hitting a ten month low mainly on account of falling imports due to slump in crude prices.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 1,738.24 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Asian markets have declined on the surprise move by Swiss National Bank revoking its commitment to keep its franc above 1.2 per euro and persisting weakness in the US markets. Nikkei has declined around 3%, Hang Seng index is down 0.6% while Shanghai Composite has gained against the trend and is up over 1% as traders in China expect more policy stimulus measures from authorities in the near term.
Overnight, US marktets closed lower for the fifth straigth session on concerns over global economic growth while weak US retail sales data and Swiss National Bank's move also weighed on the markets. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, S&P 500 lost 0.9% and Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.48%.
Rate sensitive sectors were among thr top losers after sharp gains on Thursday post the rate cut by the RBI. BSE Realty index was the top sectoral loser down 1% followed by Oil and Gas, IT, Auto and Bankex among others.
In the banking pack, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC were down 0.1-1.2% each.
TCS was down 1.3% after the IT major failed to deliver any surprise in its quarterly results. The company's volume growth remained flattish at 0.4 per cent, compared with Infosys' 4.2 per cent.
Reliance Industries was down 1.4% ahead of its third quarter earnings due for release later today.
Other Sensex losers include, ITC, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel among others.
However, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were trading with marginal gains.
Sesa Sterlite which had corrected sharply amid fall in global copper prices rebounded today and was up 2%.
Among the defensives, pharma shares witnessed renewed buying interest with Cipla, Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma up 0.1-0.8% each.
Hindustan Unilever which was the sole loser on Thursday was trading 1% higher.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap were trading flat.
Market breadth was marginally higher with 781 gainers and 694 losers on the BSE.
