Markets trim early gains, HUL weighs

Markets trimmed early gains and was trading flat amid profit taking in select heavyweights such as Hindustan Unilever and mortgage lender HDFC.

At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 5 points at 19,444 and the 50-share Nifty was up 5 points at 5,864.

Asian shares were trading firm but came off their day highs after data indicated that Chinese exports declined for the first time since January 2012, raising worries about that the world's second largest economy is slowing down. The Nikkei was down 0.1% while the Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite and Straits Times were up 0.4-0.5% each.

The rupee today rose by 13 paise to 60.01 against the US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market after the RBI took steps to curb volatility in the currency. Forex dealers said dollar selling by exporters and a higher opening in the domestic equity market helped rupee.

The Reserve Bank's order to state-owned oil companies to purchase their dollar requirement from a single public sector bank for every daily transaction to curb volatility in the currency also supported the local unit.

The BSE Metal, FMCG, Oil and Gas and Auto indices were the top losers among the sectoral indices on the BSE while Consumer Durables, IT and Bankex were the top gainers.

Infosys was up 0.6% ahead of its first quarter earnings on Friday. TCS was up 0.3% and Wipro gained 0.5%.

In the banking space, SBI and ICICI Bank were among the top Sensex gainers.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever was down nearly 1% after the stock turned ex-dividend today. The company paid a final dividend of Rs 6/ per equity share for the last fiscal.

Other Sensex losers include, HDFC and Tata Motors.

Among other shares, IndusInd Bank is trading higher by 2% at Rs 510, ahead of it’s first quarter (April-June) earnings later in the day. Analysts on an average expect the bank to report over 30% year-on-year (yoy) growth in net profit and net interest income during the first quarter of the current financial year 2013-14.

is locked in upper circuit of 10% for second day in a row at Rs 93 on reports that the company has bagged a deal to deploy its enterprise resource and planning (ERP) solution at Vassallo Industries in Puerto Rico.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.2% each.

Market breadth was strong with 839 gainers and 620 losers on the BSE.