Markets open flat on F&O expiry day

Sensex opens higher by 26 pts

The markets have opened on a flat note on the F&O expiry day. The Sensex has opened higher by 26 points at 16,994 and the 50-share Nifty is up 8 points at 5,150 levels.

Overnight, the Wall Street stocks logged their largest gain in a week, with the S&P 500 index rising one%. The rally came after data showed demand for long-lasting US manufactured goods rose sharply more than expected in May and US pending home sales hit a two-year high.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed ahead of a European summit deeply divided on how to tackle the protracted euro zone debt crisis and stop it spreading further. the Hang Seng was up 49 points at 19,225 and Nikkei advanced 87 points to 8,817. While, the Shanghai Composite was trading marginally lower at 2,215 levels.

Back home, Angel broking in its research report said that in July series 4,700 and 4,800 put options are witnessing the buildup.

"In July series 4,700, 4,800 & 5,100 put options have seen buildup and 5,300 call option has also seen buildup," the report said.

Tata Power is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 1.6% at Rs 99. Hindalco, L&T, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sterlite Industries, BHEL, NTPC and Reliance Industries have also opened higher by 0.4-1% each in trades today.

On the other hand, Tata Motors is the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stock has opened lower by 1.15% at Rs 236 after the company said that it has halted production at its Jamshedpur plant for three days due to the 'prevailing economic conditions'. TCS, Wipro, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank, Coal India, SBI and ITC have also opened lower in trades today.

Power stocks continue to witness buying consecutively for the second day. The BSE power index is the top sectoral gainer, up 0.9% or 16 points at 1,928 levels. Capital goods, realty, metal, PSU, oil & gas, consumer durables and FMCG
indices have also opened marginally higher by 0.2-0.7% each.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices have opened higher by 0.5% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 914 stocks are advancing while 393 stocks are declining.