Markets off record high; ITC, RIL weigh

Meanwhile, broader markets outperform with the midcap index up 0.9% and the smallcap index up 0.3%

Markets have turned flat in noon deals as investors booked profits at higher levels after the Sensex surged to an all-time high in early trades today.

At 1310 hrs, the Sensex was up 15 points at 21,179 after hitting an all-time high of 21,293.88 and the Nifty was up 4 points at 6,304 after hitting an intra-day high of 6,332.60 so far.  On January 10, 2008 the BSE Sensex had touched an intra-day high of 21,206.77.

In the broader markets, the midcap index gained 0.9% and the smallcap index advanced 0.3%, outperforming the Sensex which gained a marginal 0.04%.

Rupee

The rupee weakened in early trade today tracking the Non Deliverable Forward (NDF) market. At 1300 hrs, the rupee was trading at Rs 61.90 compared with previous close of Rs 61.50 per dollar.

Global Markets

Asian shares struggled on Friday, as surveys showing improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity were eclipsed by anxiety over when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start to taper its massive stimulus.

That uncertainty, heightened by upbeat U.S. data overnight, pushed the dollar to a two-week high and contributed to largely cautious trading in riskier assets.

Reassuring signals on China's factory activity offered some support to Asian shares.

China's manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in 18 months in October, with the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 51.4 last month from September's 51.1, beating economists' consensus forecast of 51.2.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was slightly lower in late trade, while Japan's Nikkei stock average ended down 0.9% at a one-week closing low.

Sectors & Stocks

On the sectoral front, Consumer Durables index slipped nearly 2% along with FMCG, Oil & Gas, It adn Teck indices down 0.3-0.8%.

Meanwhile, Realty, Auto, Bankex and PSU indices gained 1-2.5%.

Metal, Capital Goods, Health Care and Power indices added 0.1-0.9%.

SBI up 3.6% was the top Sensex gainer followed by auto majors Hero MotoCorp and Mahindra & Mahindra adding 2.5-3%.

Coal India, Jindal Steel, BHEL, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, SSLT, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Cipla which gained 0.6-2% were the other notable gainers.

Among the ones in the red were ONGC, NTPC, ITC, Gail India and Hindalco down 1-2%.

Infosys, RIL, TCS and Sun Pharma down 0.4-0.7% rounded off the losers list.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE. 1,205 stocks advanced while 925 stocks declined on the BSE.