Markets pare gains on profit taking; ONGC dips 1%

Markets have erased its recent gains on profit taking at higher levels. Index heavy weights HDFC, ONGC and L&T are contributing the most to the decline on the Sensex.
 

 At 9.27 AM, the Sensex is down 8 points at 26,411 and the Nifty has dipped 6 points to trade at 7891.

Sectors and Stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Healthcare index is leading the rally up over 0.7% followed by IT and Teck indices.  However, Capital goods, Oil and Gas and Realty indices are losing sheen on the BSE. Bankex is down 0.2%.

 

Oil and Gas majors ONGC and RIL have lost 1% and 0.3%, each.

 

Banking space is witnessing heavy selling in the early trades with Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI down over 0.5%, each.

 

Engineering conglomerate L&T has dipped over 1% on profit taking.

 

HDFC, Coal India and Maruti Suzuki are some of the prominent names in red among others.

 

On the flip side, fresh buying is visible in the defensive stocks.

 

IT majors Infosys, TCS and Wipro have gained 0.5%.

 

Dr Reddy’s lab, Sun Pharma and Cipla are trading between 0.2-1%, each.

 

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Hindalco are some of the notable names in green up between 0.5-2%.

 

Among other shares, Just Dial is trading 3% higher at Rs 1,781 after the company's board approved increasing the shareholding limit of foreign institutional investors in the company to 75% from 49%. 

 

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(updated at 9.27 AM)
The markets have opened on a firm note tracking positive global cues. Receding geo political tension in Ukraine and Gaza also aided bullish sentiment.  Index heavyweight HDFC Bank and IT majors Infosys and TCS are contributing the most to the rise on the Sensex.

 

 At 9.15 AM, the Sensex is up 69 points at 26,489 and the Nifty has climbed 17 points to trade at 7914.

 

Broader markets are in line with the large counterparts both the mid and smallcap indices have surged by 0.2 and 0.4%, each.

 

The market breadth is positive with 619 stocks advancing while 248 stocks declining on BSE.

 

Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 559.39 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

 

Global Markets:

 

Markets have Asian stocks were steady on Wednesday after strong U.S. housing data lifted Wall Street shares, helping nudge Treasury yields higher and keeping the dollar well bid against the euro and yen.

 

Global equities have attracted funds in recent sessions on expectations major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, will continue to retain their easy money policies for a while. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.1 percent.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.

 

Wall Street drew support from robust housing data on Tuesday, which pushed up Treasury yields and drove the dollar to a nine-month high against the euro.