Markets trim early gains; Nifty holds 8,400

Profit taking in private banks and IT majors Infosys and TCS capped upside gains

Benchmark share indices opened marginally higher to hit fresh record highs but further upside was capped because of profit taking in select private banks and IT majors.

At 9:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 16 points at 28,194 and the 50-share Nifty was down 4 points at 8,426.
 
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 656.37crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
 

Japanese shares have rebounded from yesterday's slump boosted by deal activity worth $100 billion in the US and anticipation of European  monetary stimulus. Nikkei has gained around 1.6%.
 

Meanwhile, Chinese shares are trading weak after the launch of direct connect project which connects stock markets of China and Honk Kong. Hang Seng is trading down 0.4% while Shanghai Composite index has lost 0.2%.
 
US markets closed mixed with S&P 500 ending at record closing high boosted by deal activity worth $100 billion dollars. The Dow Jones industrial average ended flat at 17,648, the S&P 500 closed at 2,041.32, a record closing high. Nasdaq closed lower by 0.3%  dragged by losses in Google and Gilead.
 
The BSE Capital Goods Index was the top gainer up 0.9% followed by Oil & Gas and Power indices among others. BSE Consumer Durables index was the sole loser down 0.1%.

Among the index heavyweights Reliance Industries was up nearly 1% while ITC was up 0.6% contributing the most to the Sensex gains.

SBI was up 1%. The bank reported robust Q2 earnings. Further, reports suggest that in order to make gains from rising stock market it has expanded its list of equities for investments to go beyond the National Stock Exchange's Nifty 50 index scrips.

Capital goods stocks rebounded today with L&T and BHEL up 1% each.

Sun Pharma was up 0.5%. The company has recalled about 68,000 bottles of its anti-depressant venlafaxine hydrochloride, from the US market. The company withdrew the drugs, manufactured in its Halol unit in India, after they failed to dissolve properly, said the US Food and Drug Administration.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index and the Small-cap index were up 0.6% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,120 gainers and 551 losers on the BSE.