Markets take a pause; Nifty hovers at 8750

The markets are trading in a sideways manner with a mildly negaive bias in mid-morning trades, snapping the runaway gains witnessed in the past five trading sessions, ahead of the IIP data set to be released in the course of the day. At 11:30AM, the Sensex is at 28,810, lower by 74 points and the Nifty is at 8,763, down 15 points.

The Sensex has been confined to a narrow range of 90 points between an intra-day high of 28,899 and a low of 28,810, while the Nifty has been stuck between 8781 on the higher side and 8758 at the lower end, as the gains in the oil and gas space have been offset by losses on the pharma counters. The benchmark indices had gained in the previous five straight sessions hitting one-month closing highs; with the Nifty ending comfortably above the 8750 mark in Thursday's session on the back of India's outlook upgrade by Moody's.

However, the broader space is continuing its recent outperformance vis-a-vis the benchmark indices, with the midcap index quoting at 11,125, higher by 76 points or 0.6% and the smallcap index placed at 11802, up 85 points or 0.7%.

The markets will keep an eye on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers to be unveiled in the course of the day.

ASIAN MARKETS

Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Friday when the initial euphoria as it topped the psychological milestone of 20,000 was quickly taken over by selling to lock in the past few months' solid gains.

The Nikkei fell 0.2% to 19,897.97, reversing its course after having risen above the 20,000 mark for the first time in 15 years.

The rally has been driven by many factors, including hopes of higher shareholder returns, rise in corporate earnings, recovery in domestic consumption and more share buying, both real and imagined, by Japanese public investors.

The market expects Japanese corporate earnings to rise 10 to 15% this year, but with the Nikkei already up 14% so far this year, some investors see limited justification to chase more gains.

SECTORS & BUZZING STOCKS

The oil space continues to hog the limelight on the BSE, with Oil India, BPCL and Oil India gaining about a per cent each. However, RIL is trading flat at Rs 894 after soaring by almost 4% in the previous session on reports that the company had discovered massive gas reserves at MJ-1 block in its KG-D6 basin.

On the other hand, the pharma stocks are seeing some selling pressure on the BSE post their recent gains. Lupin, Cipla, Cadilla and Dr Reddy's have shed anywhere between 1% and 2% each.

The BSE banking index is also under strain at 21,614, down 0.3%. The index had surged more than 1% in Thursday's session of trade after Moody's Investors Service changed India's outlook to 'positive' from 'stable' earlier and affirmed 'Baa3' credit rating. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have lost upto a per cent each. SBI has, however, bucked the weak trend in the sector, adding more than a per cent at Rs 283.

Among individual names, Sesa Sterlite has rallied by 2% at Rs 199 to top the gainers list on the BSE. The other prominent gainers are SBI, Bhel and Infosys, which have added between 1% and 2% each.

On the other hand, Cipla tops the loser's list on the BSE, shedding 1.7% at Rs 706. Hindalco, HDFC Bank and ITC have lost around a per cent each.