Markets trade flat as investors tread lightly ahead of exit polls

Dr Reddy's fell nearly 3% after the company received 13 observations for its Duvvuda facility

Benchmark indices were off opening losses to trade flat during the early morning trade tracking volatility on the domestic front.  Investors tread lightly ahead of exit polls data for assembly elections in 5 states which will be released later in the day. The results for the polls will be declared on Saturday.
 
At 10:07 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,895 down 7 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,921 down 3 points.
 
The broader market was trading flat with BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap fell 0.1% and 0.03% respectively.
 
'Nifty has been consolidating in between 8,860 to 9,000 zone from last eleven trading sessions and is awaiting a decisive range breakout to commence the next leg of rally. Now if it sustains below 8,920 then it may correct towards next support of 8,860 and 8,820 while holding above 9,000 would start the fresh up move towards 9,119," said Motilal Oswal Securities in a note.
 
On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 564.15 crore, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 481.96 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.
 
Meanwhile, Oil prices plunged 5% to their lowest levels this year on Wednesday as US crude inventories surged much more than expected to a record high, stocking concerns that a global glut could persist even as Opec tries to prop up prices with output curbs.
 
Sectors and Stocks

Dr Reddy’s fell nearly 3% after the company received 13 observations for its Duvvuda oncology facility by the US Food and Drug Administration. 
 
Gail was the top loser on BSE Sensex, down around 4% followed by Dr Reddy's, Tata Steel and Power Grid While Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Maruti suzuki and M&M were the main gainers,
 
The week of IPOs
 
The Rs 1,870-crore initial public offering (IPO) of Avenue Supermarts was subscribed 1.38 times on Wednesday, the first day of the issue. The 44.37 million share offering has so far garnered bids for 60 million shares.
 
The Rs 488-crore initial public offering (IPO) of Music Broadcast garnered 39 times subscription. The institutional investor segment of the IPO was subscribed 40.4 times; high net worth individual (HNI) portion was subscribed 111.6 times; and retail segment was subscribed 9.4 times. The issue saw nearly 850,000 applications and generated demand worth Rs 13,600 crore.
 
Global Markets
 
With energy stocks on the run, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.6%. Australia's main index eased 0.1%, while its resources sector fell more than 2%.
 
Japan's export-heavy Nikkei managed to take heart from a softer yen and added 0.3%.
 
Wall Street had been sideswiped by the retreat in oil, with energy stocks losing 2.5% in their worst performance since mid-September.
 

The Dow fell 0.33%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.23% and the Nasdaq added 0.06%.