Sensex pares gains to turn flat, Nifty below 9,450; Bharti Airtel top loser

The benchmark indices pared gains in the afternoon trade after hitting record highs for the second straight session on Thursday as investors booked profits in recent outperformers such as Bharti Airtel and Hindustan Unilever, while negative opening in European markets also capped gains. 

At 1:35 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 30,273, up 25 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,428, up 21 points.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices pared intraday gains to turn flat. 

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On the BSE, 1,430 shares declined and 1,233 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.

Bharti Airtel shed over 2% to Rs 365 after the stock gained 8% in the previous session even as the company reported a 72% in net profits at Rs 373 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, a second consecutive quarterly decline. 

Hindustan Unilever slipped over 1% to Rs 982 after the stock hit its all-time high in the previous session on the hopes of an average monsoon this year. 

Nifty media index (up 3%) was the leading sectoral gainer. Sun TV (up 6%), Zee Learn (up 5%), Dish TV (up 4%) and Inox Leisure (up 2%) gained the most on the index.

Two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp was up 3% to Rs 3,422 while rival Bajaj Auto rose 2% to Rs 2,961 on hopes good monsoon rains will boost sales, especially in the rural markets. TVS Motor Co gained over 1%. 

Banks also gained as investors pinned their hopes on easing bad loans in coming quarters after the government tweaked its laws last week to help tackle the record $150 billion in troubled bank debts. The Nifty PSU Bank index was up 1.4%, led by gains in Allahabad Bank, Union Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda, which added anywhere between 2-3%.

Overseas, most Asian stocks advanced as global equities remained at record levels and a rebound in oil boosted energy producers, but European markets were under pressure as investors reacted to the latest batch of corporate earnings and strong gains in oil prices.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dipped 0.16%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 was hovering on a flatline.