Nifty below 5,700; Metals lose sheen

Broader markets up nearly 1%, out-performing benchmark indices

Markets traded flat in afternoon trades this Monday on back of selling pressure witnessed in auto and metal indices.

At 1PM, the Sensex was down 5 points at 18,829 and the Nifty gained 2 points at 5,684.

Meanwhile, the broader markets improve with both the smallcap and the midcap indices adding 1-2%, outperforming the Sensex which was up marginally 0.3%.

Asian shares and the euro fell on Monday with exchanges closed in several Asian markets, including Australia and Hong Kong, as well as in Europe for Easter holidays.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2%, with South Korean shares falling 0.5% and Shanghai easing 0.1%.

Among the sectoral indices, Metal and Auto were the only indices in the negative, down 0.7% each. On the other hand, Realty, Capital Goods, Health Care, Power and Consumer Durables advanced 1-3%.

The top gainers among the Sensex-30 were BHEL, L&T, Dr Reddys Lab, Cipla and Infosys up 2-3%.  NTPC, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Auto up 1% each were the other notable gainers.

On the losing side were Sterlite down 5% after Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) ordered closure of the company’s copper smelter plant, located in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu with immediate effect owing to alleged leaks of noxious gas.

The others in the negative were Tata Motors, Jindal Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro and Hero MotoCorp down 1-2%.

In other stocks, Cairn India gained 3.4% after Kotak Institutional Equities upgraded the stock to "buy" from "add" and kept its target price of Rs 340, saying the current price provides a good entry point as valuations and expectations have turned reasonable.

Novartis India has dipped 4% to Rs 574, after the Supreme Court has denies cancer drug patent to the company.

Polaris Financial Technology was trading higher by 4.5% at Rs 116.5 on amid reports that the Chennai-based IT software products company is looking for a stake sale in its services business.

TRF was locked at the upper circuit at Rs 172 after the company received Rs 360 crore orders from Nabinagar Power Generating Company Private Limited, a joint venture Company of NTPC and Bihar State Power (Holding) Company.

The market breadth was positive owing to the strength in broader markets. 1608 stocks advanced while 828 stocks declined on the BSE.