Markets near day's low; Nifty falls below 8,700

Benchmark indices have slipped into the red territory and have lost over 0.5% each weighed down by the losses in HDFC twins, select FMCG and oil shares.  
 
At 1:48PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 170 points at 27,674 and the 50-share Nifty was down 54 points at 8,702.
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(Updated at 1:04PM)
Benchmark indices are trading on a flat note, amid range bound trade, as the gains in stocks like Bharti Airtel , select index heavyweights like ICICI Bank and ITC and auto shares have been wiped off by the losses in select financials and FMCG stocks.
 
At 1:03PM, the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty were flat at the mark of 28,871 and 8,758 respectively.
 
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap index up 0.4% and Smallcap index up 0.6% have performed better than the front-liners. Market breadth in BSE is positive with 1,381 advances against 1,164 declines.    
 
 
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 838.30 crore on Monday as per provisional stock exchange data.  
 
Buzzing Stocks
 
3 out of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE are trading lower. BSE Auto index, up over 1% is the top gainer followed by BSE Metal and BSE Consumer Durables indices, up 0.8% each.
 
Bharti Airtel has gained around 10%. The company has stated that it plans to double its 4G subscriber base by the next fiscal.
 
Capital goods shares have rebounded from yesterday’s lows. L&T has gained around 0.5% and BHEL is up 0.7%.
 
Select auto shares are trading higher in today's session. Tata Motors has gained over 1%, M&M is up 2.3%, Bajaj Auto is up 1.6% and Hero Motocorp has gained 0.7%.
 
IT shares are trading mixed. Infosys is up 0.5% while TCS and Wipro have declined 0.3% and 1% each.
 
Housing finance major, HDFC has declined over 3% and FMCG major HUL is down over 2%.
 
HDFC Bank is down 0.3%. Citibank has upgraded HDFC Bank from 'neutral' to 'buy.
 
Among oil and gas shares, ONGC is down 1.5%, GAIL is down 1.7% and RIL is down 0.2%.