Markets subdued in morning deals

Heavuweights such as RIL and ICICI Bank under pressure

Markets are trading on a subdued note in the morning deals on the back of profit booking visible in the heavyweight stocks such as ICICI Bank, reliance Industries, Wipro and HDFC.

Meanwhile, the BSE oil & gas index is the top sectorl loser. The index has slipped 0.2% or 22 points to 8,865 levels. Metal and auto indices are also trading in the red.

Among the individual stocks, Alstom T&D India has rallied 7% to Rs 193, after its France-based parent company Alstom Holdings made an Open Offer to acquire additional 26% stake of the company at a price of Rs 187.64 per share.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure has soared 9% to Rs 99 after its promoters have made an open offer to acquire additional 26% stake at price of Rs 83.10 per share.
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(Updated at 9.20 AM)

Markets have opened on a flat note in trades today on the back of profit booking visible in the heavyweight stocks. The Sensex has advanced 24 points to open at 18,566 and the 50-share Nifty has advanced 2 points to 5,612 levels.

Overnight, the U.S. stocks fell on Monday in light trading after a rally that drove the S&P 500 last week to its highest level in nearly five years and as falling oil prices hit energy shares.

The Asian markets are also trading on a lacklustre note. The Hang Seng is down 11 points at 20,646, Shanghai Composite is down 13 points at 2,065 and the Nikkei has slipped 19 points to 9,139.

Back home, the street would closely eye the political developments as UPA's key ally Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress would decide on whether to support the government or not on the reform measures announced on Friday as their party is opposing the move.

BHEL is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. It has opened higher by 2.3% at Rs 218. Jindal Steel, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla, Gail India, Maruti Suzuki and HUL are also among the gainers up 0.6-1.8% each.

On the other hand, Hindalco, TCS, HDFC, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Coal india and Larsen & Toubro are also among the losers.

On the sectoral front, BSE power index is the top gainer, up 1% at 1,940 levels. Healthcare, realty, IT, PSU, consumer durables and FMCG indices are trading flat, up 0.3-0.9% each.

At the same time, metal and auto indices are trading lower, down 0.1 and 0.3% each.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are up 0.5% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 937 stocks are advancing while 504 are declining.