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Analysts expect trading to be volatile in this week with traders rolling over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from November to December 2014 series on Thursday and data on second quarter Current Account Deficit and official second quarter GDP figures due later in the week.
At 10:15AM, the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty were flat at the mark of 28,344 and 8,458 respectively.
In the broader market, both BSE midcap and smallcap indices are outperforming their larger peers with gains of 0.4% and 0.6% each. Market breadth in BSE is positive with 1,212 advances against 856 declines.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 1,168.94 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
The rupee is trading at 61.80 versus Tuesday's close of 61.86. Gains in other Asian currencies vs the dollar is hurting sentiment for the pair.
Buzzing Stocks
In a defensive market, BSE FMCG index is the lead gainer with an advance of more than 1% followed by BSE Power index up 0.8% and BSE Capital Goods index,up 0.6%. BSE Metal and Consumer Durables indices have gained 0.4% each.
BSE Realty and Auto indices down 0.4% each are the top losers followed by Bankex and IT Index down 0.2% each.
Bajaj Auto has declined more than 2% on currency devaluation by Nigeria which will make the purchase of two-wheelers in that country steeper by around 8%.
Maruti Suzuki is trading flat despite the company’s announcement that the sales figure for one of its best-selling models models Wagon R has crossed the mark of 15 lakh units.
Bharti Airtel, down 0.8% too has declined on devaluation of Naira, the official currency of Nigeria as the African nation is a big market for Airtel.
Among financials, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have lost close to 0.5% as pressure of profit-booking continues to weigh on bank shares.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, up 0.1% has gained marginally after gaining approval from RBI to enter the general insurance business.
ITC has recovered from yesterday's slump as analysts do not see the new restrictions on the sale of cigarettes materially affecting the company's revenues. The stock is among the lead gainers and has surged more than 2%.
GAIL, up 2.6% is the top gainer in the early trading.
Tata Power has gained more than 1% on Central Electricity Regulatory Commission passing the Tariff Order for the 1050 MW power plant of Maithon Power Limited, a joint venture between Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation. This will pave the way for meeting the targeted returns from the project.
Coal India and ONGC up 0.5% each have gained on reports that the proposed divestment process in both the companies will get underway in the next two weeks.
Financial Technologies India (FTIL) has surged 5% in early morning deals after the company announced the sale of its 5% stake in MCX-SX to ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, along with 12 others, in a deal amounting to over Rs 88 crore.
