Markets remain flat; NTPC up 3%, Hero Moto falls 2%

Gains in pharma and financial shares helped helped offset losses in information technology shares

Benchmark indices continue to trade in a narrow range with Sensex and Nifty swinging between negative and positive zone. 

At 13:50 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 30 points at 24,655 and the Nifty50 was up 1 point at 7,548.

Top gainers from the Sensex pack are NTPC, Lupin, M&M, GAIL and BHEL. On the losing side, Hero Moto, TCS, Bharti Airtel, HUL and Axis Bank slipped between 1%-3%. 

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Updated at 10:40

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Markets continued to trade flat in late morning trades as gains in financials and pharma shares helped offset losses in information technology shares.

At 10:40am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 14 points at 24,700 and the Nifty50 was up 10 points at 7,558.

Lupin was up 2% at Rs 1,537 after the company's US subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc., announced the launch of generic Aricept tablets.

Among other pharma shares, Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma were up 0.3%-1.4% each.

BHEL was up 1% as the company posted a profit of Rs 396 crore for the quarter ended March 2016 after huge losses in the previous two quarters.
Among other shares, Cairn India eased 2.5% after its parent Cairn Energy Plc which holds a minority stake in  Cairn India has decided to exit. The British oil major is eyeing to sell its 10% stake in the open market.

Shares of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) have gained nearly 2% to Rs 957 on the BSE after the company secured a total business of Rs 227 crore in March under the project management consultancy segment.

Shares of Sundram Fasteners have gained over 1% at Rs 168.50 on the NSE after the company decides to restructure its international operations to maximise the revenue potential.
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(Updated at 9:35am)
Markets opened flat with negative bias tracking subdued Asian cues and overnight losses on Wall Street on concerns over global economy slowdown coupled with slide in crude oil prices on a sudden surge in Iraqi oil exports. 

At 9:35am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 40 points at 24,646 and the Nifty50 was down 9 points at 7,537. In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were trading flat with positive bias.

Read more from our special coverage on "NIFTY"

 

"Yesterday’s bearish bias is expected to linger on today as well, atleast in the early hours, aiming 7484/40. However, pull back above 7600 could dilute the bearish bias, though it would not be prudent to play the upsides, unless a close above 7800 is seen or dips extent beyond 7484," Geojit BNP Paribas said in a technical note.

Foreign investors were net sellers in equities worth Rs 295 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The currency and debt markets are closed today on account of Gudi Padwa holiday.

STOCKS & SECTORS

BSE IT, Consumer Durables, Oil and Gas indices were the top losers while Capital Goods, Metal and Healthcare indices were the gainers in early trades.

IT majors TCS, Infosys and Wipro were down 0.6%-1% each. Infosys will announce its fourth quarter earnings next week.

In the auto segment, Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp were the top losers down over 1% each. Maruti Suzuki continues to remain weak as the rising yen would hurt operating margins.

SBI was down nearly 1% after the bank announced reduction in home loan rates while ICICI Bank was trading flat with positive bias. State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank on Thursday cut their home loan rates by 0.10 percentage points to 9.4 per cent following implementation of a new interest rate calculation regime mandated by the Reserve Bank of India.

Tata Motors was up nearly 1%. The auto major hopes to gain market share post the launch of the compact hatchback Tiago at an attractive price.

Pharma shares were also among the top gainers amid renewed buying interest. Lupin and Dr Reddy's Labs were up 1% each.

GLOBAL MARKET

Asian equities posted losses to hit three-week lows today after banking stocks logged sharp plunge across the globe. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei is down 0.6% after the yen rose to a 17-month high against the dollar. Following the tandem, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite lost between 0.5%-1%. In the US markets, S&P 500 Index 1.2% and Nasdaq dropped 1.5%.