Sensex, Nifty trading flat; IT shares decline

Benchmark indices are trading flat after opening with marginal gains. Losses in information technology shares have limited the gains of select financials and index heavyweights.
 
At 11:22AM, the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty were flat at the mark of 28,571 and 8,565 respectively.
 
In the broader market, BSE midcap and smallcap indices have outperformed their larger peers with gains of 0.5% and 1% each.  Market breadth in BSE is positive with 1,438 advances against 940 declines.
 

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 474 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

 
 Buzzing Stocks
 
BSE Realty index, up 1.2% has gained the most followed by BSE FMCG index, up 0.8% and BSE Capital Goods and Metal indices, up 0.6% each.
 
BSE IT index, down 1.2% followed by BSE Teck index, down 0.8% have lost the most.
 
Metal stocks are trading firm with Sesa Sterlite leading the pack with a gain of 1.6%. Tata Steel is up 0.3% while Hindalco has posted marginal gain of 0.1%.
 
ITC has extended gains from yesterday and is trading with a gain of more than 1%.
 
Axis Bank has gained more than 1% on raising 5,705 crore in infrastructure bonds in a single-largest closure since the instrument was introduced in July.

 
ICICI has gained around 0.7%. Yesterday, stock had touched fresh record high of Rs 366 on BSE after the stock turned ex-stock split.
 
Among gas and oil shares, GAIL has gained more than 1.3% and Reliance has gained around 0.7%.  Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mexican state owned company, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), for assessment of potential upstream oil and gas business opportunities in Mexico and jointly evaluate value added opportunities in international markets.  
 
IT majors are under pressure on rupee appreciating against US Dollar and ahead of the release of US nonfarm payroll report which is due later today. Infosys, Wipro and TCS have lost between 1% to 1.6%.

 
Pharma shares are subdued. Dr Reddys Lab has lost more than 1%. Sun Pharma is down 0.5%.  Ranbaxy which is in the process of being acquired by Sun Pharma was in news  after European Union barred the export of medicines  from company’s unit at  Madhya Pradesh.
 
Among other shares, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers (MCF) has rallied 9% after the company said Zuari Fertilisers made an open offer to acquire a further 30.7 million shares at Rs 91.92 per share