Markets turn flat; metal and IT shares weigh

By 12:25PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 12 points at 26,383 levels and the CNX Nifty is trading flat at 7,966

Benchmark indices have once again turned flat and are trading in a narrow range as investors have turned cautious ahead of key economic data.

TCS, Wipro and Infosys are trading weak as the US government has opened an investigation against two of the biggest Indian outsourcing companies for possible violations of H1-B visa rules, according to a media report.   

By 12:25PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 12 points at 26,383 levels and the CNX Nifty is trading flat at 7,966.

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Updated at 12:25

Markets have recovered from the volatile session and are trading higher led by financials ahead of the press conference.

Jaitley is scheduled to meet the heads of public sector banks to review the banks' annual performance and bad loan situation as also to persuade them to pass on RBI's rate cut benefit to borrowers for propping growth.

By 12:25PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 82 points at 26,453 levels and the CNX Nifty is trading at 7,983, up 18 points.

The top gainers on the Sensex are Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, HDFC, Cipla and RIL.

Reliance Inds is trading higher over 1% Reliance Jio, the wireless telephony and data services subsidiary of Reliance Industries will launch its commercial services by December this year, Chairman of RIL, Mukesh Ambani said here today at its 41st annual general meeting of shareholders.  

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Updated at 11:30

Benchmark indices erased the early gains and are trading flat with a positive bias ahead of the CPI and IIP data, which is to be announced later in the day.

Meanwhile, investors will patiently await for any key announcements for further dirctions in the ongoing Reliance AGM.

At 11:30 AM, the Sensex was marginally higher by 9 points at 26,379 levels while the Nifty was at 7,972 levels, up by 5 points but below its crucial psychological level of  8,000-mark. Nifty slipped below 8,000 in yesterday’s trading session to a near 8-month low.

The broader markets are trading mixed. BSE Midcap index has gained 0.01% and the BSE Smallcap index is trading marginally lower. The market breadth is weak with 1,281 declines versus 835 advances on the BSE.

On the currency front, the rupee breached the 64 levels to trade at 64.03, up by 7 paise against the US dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters.

SECTORS & STOCKS

On the sectoral front, BSE Metal index is trading over 1% down, followed by BSE Realty and BSE consumer durables, down nearly 1% each.

Reliance Industries is trading nearly 1% up on the Sensex as Mukesh Ambani is speaking at the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries

Tata Power is the highest gainer on the Sensex, gaining nearly 1.5% on the Sensex.  The company confirmed that it is in talks with lenders in order to refinance loans that are extended to its Mundra ultra mega power project in Gujarat.  

Other gainers on the Sensex are Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Maruti and Infosys, all gaining between 0.5-1.3% each on the Sensex.

On the flip side, shares of Vedanta have slipped nearly 3% on the Sensex ahead of its official merger announcement with Cairn India on Sunday.

Hindalco, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and Coal India shed between 0.9-2.2% each on the Sensex.

Among other shares, Varun Shipping are locked in the upper circuit of 5% after the company in its action report informed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that all the pending 90 investor complaints have been resolved.

Shares of Novartis have slumped over 8% and are currently quoting at Rs 771 on the BSE after staging a smart rally of 20% in yesterday’s trade on reports suggesting that Novartis AG, parent company, is considering delisting of Indian unit, Novartis India from the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shares of ABG Shipyard have surged nearly 7% on BSE after the company confirmed that it has received firm expression of interest from Privinvest for a strategic stake sale.