Markets flat in early trades

The markets are soft in opening trades. The Sensex is quoting at 17434, lower by 16 points and the Nifty is at 5209, down 15 points. The mid-cap and small-cap indices are trading flat at 6720 and 8454 respectively.

The US markets witnessed profit booking overnight. The Dow closed at 10836, weaker by 52 points and the Nasdaq ended at 2398, lower by 16 points.

And Asian markets dropped in early trades, with the Hang Seng slipping 309 points.

Among the top losers on the Sensex, HDFC has weakened by 1.3% at Rs 2584, Tata Motors has shed 1.2% at Rs 730 and ICICI Bank has lost 0.8% at Rs 917. NTPC, SBI and ONGC are the other notable losers.

On the other hand, telecom major Bharti Airtel has strengthened by 2.4% at Rs 314 to emerge as the leading gainer on the BSE following news that it has clinched Zain for $10.7 billion. Reliance Infra has appreciated by 0.9% at Rs 1033 and Hindustan Unilever has added 0.8% a Rs 229.

And index heavyweight Reliance Industries is trading flat at Rs 1090.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 1631 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 972 advancing stocks as against 600 declines.