Nifty hovers near 5,500; Mid-caps decline

BSE-Auto, consumer durables, PSU led declines

Markets pared gains in morning trades this Wednesday on back of mild pullback witnessed in broader markets, however, gains in front liners prevented a sharp correction.

At 10AM, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex rose 37.66 points at 18,263.14 while the National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty gained 5 points at 5,500.

Indian stocks markets have dropped for five consecutive trading sessions on back of overseas investors selling amid worries about the economy and on lingering concerns about political stability.

Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 17.25 billion in the previous five sessions, provisional exchange data showed.

The key trigger for markets will be Infosys results on Friday coupled with Industrial production numbers, which is also due on the same day.

Global risk appetite was firm on hopes of global growth recovery after Alcoa Inc, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates as demand from airplane and car manufacturers increased.

Meanwhile, China recorded a mild trade deficit of $884 million in March as imports surged way ahead of market expectations, growing 14.1% year-on-year, while annual export growth of 10.0% were largely in line with forecasts.

The trade data indicated China's economic recovery remained on track, a day after an inflation report suggested policymakers could hold to an accomodative monetary policy for a while longer in order to help regain momentum in growth.

Asian markets traded mixed with China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.17% to 2,221.93, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.15% to 21,903, Singapore’s Straits Times declined 0.3% to 3,286 while Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.7% to 13,289.

Back home, the key sectoral indices such as IT, real-estate, capital goods sectors gained while oil & gas, consumer durables, PSU and autos lead declines on BSE.

The gainers on the Sensex included counters such as HDFC rising 1.5%, Wipro and TCS up 1.1-1.5%, Infosys gained 0.7% while Bharti Airtel rose 0.6%.

The laggards included counters such as Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors dropping 1.2% and 1.4% respectively, ONGC fell 0.9%, Mahindra & Mahindra declined 0.8%, Reliance Industries shed 0.3% on BSE.

The broader markets traded mixed with mid-caps falling 0.14% and small-caps up nearly 0.1% on BSE.

The market breadth was flat. Out of 1,174 stocks traded, 563 stocks gained compared to 560 declines on BSE.