Markets remain flat

Metal stocks shine

Markets are trading on a listless note in the morning deals. The Sensex is up 12 points at 17,613 and the 50-share Nifty is up 4 points at 5,342.

Meanwhile, the monsoon session of the Parliament scheduled to start today. The important economic reforms  to boost the investor sentiment are likely to be tabled during this session.

Back to markets, the metal stocks are witnessing buying. The BSE metal index is the top sectoral gainer, up 1.3% or 136 points at 10,498 levels. Hindalco is the top gainer on the Sensex from this space, up 2.4% at Rs 122. Jindal Steel, Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, SAIL, Sesa Goa and NMDC are also trading higher by 1-2.4% each.

Auto, PSU, power, oil & gas and FMCG indices are trading flat, up 0.2-0.7% each. On the other hand, realty, teck, capital goods, bankex and consumer durable indices have slipped into the red.
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(Updated at 9:20 AM)

Markets have opened on a flat note in trades today ignoring positive global cues on account of profit booking after the sharp rise since past two trading sessions. The Sensex has opened higher by 36 points at 17,763 and the 50-share Nifty has opened higher by 10 points at 5,347.

Overnight, the US stocks rose for a third straight day on Tuesday, pushing the S&P above 1,400 for the first time since early May. On the other hand, the Dow Jones industrial average moved up 0.4%.

The Asian markets are also trading higher on expectations that policymakers will soon decisively address the euro zone fiscal crisis and declining global growth. The Nikkei is up 1.7% at 8,956, Hang Seng has advanced 58 points to 20,130 and the Taiwan Weighted is up 51 points at 7,346.

Back home, Tata Motors is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 1.6% to open at Rs 242. Jindal Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco, Coal India, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Sterlite Industries and Wipro have also opened higher by 0.5-1% each.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel is the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stocks has opened lower by 1% at Rs 292 after the company reported lower than expected net profit which came in at Rs 762 crore. The net sales for the quarter were at Rs 19,350 crore.

Maruti Suzuki, ITC, ONGC, HDFC Bank, TCS, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Auto have also opened weaker in trades today.

On the sectoral front, BSE metal index is the top gainer up 1.4% at 10,510 levels. Auto, PSU, oil & gas, capital goods and consumer durable indices have also opened higher by 0.5-0.8% each.

At the same time, FMCG index has opened lower at 5,095 levels.

The broader markets are trading on a marginally higher. The BSE mid-cap index is up 0.5% at 6,159 and the small-cap index is up 0.4% at 6,646.

The overall breadth is positive as 996 stocks are advancing while 422 are declining.