Sensex hovers around 27,000; metal, pharma shares drag

Markets continued to trade flat after the first hour of trade as gains in FMCG majors helped offset losses in Sun Pharma and shares of private banks.

At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 22 points at 27,022 and the 50-share Nifty was up 4 points at 8,090.

ITC edged higher and was up 1% after the recent correction while Hindustan Unilever was up 0.7%.

Other Sensex gainers include, TCS, HDFC and ONGC among others.

Shares of private banks such as Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.2-0.4% each.

Sun Pharma was down 2.6% after the USFDA conducted a surprise inspection at its Halol unit in Gujarat.

Among other shares, Atul Auto was trading higher by 3% at Rs 413 after the stock was quoted ex-stock split from today.

Shares of Snowman Logistics have listed at Rs 76, a huge 62% premium against its issue price of Rs 47 per share, on National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock is currently trading at Rs 78.

Market breadth was strong with 1,443 gainers and 952 losers on the BSE.

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(Updated at 9:40AM)

Markets remained range bound in early trades as investors adopted cautious stance ahead of August CPI and July industrial production data to be released later today.

At 9:40AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 52 points at 27,048 and the 50-share Nifty was up 11 points at 8,097.

The Indian rupee was trading marginally lower at Rs 60.97 against the US dollar compared to the previous close of Rs 60.92.

Further, foreign funds were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 433.55 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Meanwhile, India recorded its heaviest spell of monsoon rains in 2014 in the past week, logging in surplus for the second straight week, raising hopes of a delayed retreat of the four-month season.

Asian markets are trading mixed on the final trading day of the week, following an uninspiring US lead. The Nikkei extended gains and was up 0.4% while Straits Times and Shanghai Composite were up 0.1% each. However, shares in Hong Kong witnessed profit taking after sharp gains recently. The benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.4%.

ITC which had corrected after media reports that the government might announce stringent measures on cigarettes was up nearly 1%.

IT majors Infosys and TCS were also among the Sensex gainers up 0.6% each.

ONGC which had corrected yesterday on government's plan to divest partial stake in the company was up nearly 1%.

In the capital goods segment L&T and BHEL were marginally up ahead of July IIP data.

Sun Pharma extended losses and was the top Sensex loser after the USFDA conducted a surprise inspection at its Halol unit in Gujarat. Further, is the company is looking to get shareholders' approval to raise qualified institutional placement (QIP) worth Rs 12,000 crore at its 27th annual general meeting to be held by the end of September.

Other Sensex losers include, Reliance Ind and private banks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.4-0.6% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,400 gainers and 488 losers on the BSE.