Markets remain subdued; Tata Motors rises 2% ahead of Q1 nos

Investors remain cautious ahead of a highly-anticipated speech today by Janet Yellen of the US Federal Reserve

Benchmark indices continue to trade in a narrow range as investors have turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's direction on key policy rates at a meeting scheduled today.

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak at the Kansas City Fed's annual Monetary Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

By 11:20am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 28 points at 27,809 and the Nifty50 dipped 8 points at 8,584. Among broader markets BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are flat with negative bias.

Top gainers from the Sensex pack are Tata Motors, GAIL, Cipla, M&M and RIL. Among losers, Adani Ports, L&T, Asian Paints, Wipro and SBI are down 1%-2%. Tata Motors have gained over 2% ahead of Q1 numbers today.

Among other shares, Mandhana Industries is locked in upper circuit of 5% at Rs 101 on the BSE after the company announced that 'Being Human' the Salman Khan Foundation, has executed an agreement with Mandhana Retail Ventures Limited (MRVL).

Shares of Biocon hit a fresh record high of Rs 910, up 5% on the BSE in early morning trade, after the company announced Mylan’s application to market biosimilar Trastuzumab has been accepted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for review.

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Updated at 10:20 am

Markets have started the September series on a firm note but gains were erased as investors turned cautious ahead of the policy stance on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve.

Investors have turned cautious ahead of a highly-anticipated speech today by Janet Yellen of the US Federal Reserve in an annual meeting of central bankers from around the world in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

By 10:20am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 3 points at 27,833 and the Nifty50 dipped 3 points at 8,590. Broader markets continue to outperform benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up over 0.4% each.

"Consistent close near 8,650 keeps the spot light on the same, and a 70 point swing away from this level could be expected to lead to a directional move of atleast 150 points, but not beyond. Early positive bias is expected to attract long liquidation pressure if unable to scale the 8,700 mark. This followed by a direct fall below 8,580 could call for sharp falls towards 8440. Alternatively, direct rise above 8,790 could call for short covering rallies to 8,900-9,000, but not much beyond in the near term," added Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note.

Globally, Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend with most of the markets remained relatively flat throughout the week ahead of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's speech today, which could provide hints about the timing of the next rate hike from the Fed.

US stocks registered small losses yesterday with healthcare stocks extending previous trading session's decline.

Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 372.08 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its monsoon update issued yesterday, said that for the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon so far (till 24 August 2016) was 2% below the long period average (LPA).

Among stocks, Tata Motors is scheduled to announce Q1 June 2016 results today. The stock has gained over 1.5%.

Adani Ports extended losses and was down 2% amid profit taking after recent gains post robust June quarter earnings. The stock had gained over 20% in the ahead of its June quarter earnings.

Lupin has firmed up by 1% after the pharma major received  approval from USFDA  for Paroxetine extended release tablets.

Other notable gainers are RIL, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Infosys and M&M.

Financial shares are mostly in the negative zone with SBI, HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank leading the decline, all down between 0.02%-1%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday retained the classification of State Bank of India and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) in 2016 and maintained their bucketing structure as it was last year.

Biocon has risen by almost 5% after the company announced that European Medicine Agency (EMA) will review the marketing authorisation application for anti cancer biosimilar Trastuzumab, which is being co-developed with drug maker Mylan. The companies believe that theirs could be the application taken up for review by EMA.