Sensex turns flat; ITC, HDFC down 1-1.7%

ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro drag Sensex lower

Benchmark indices pared all initial gains in afternoon deals dragged down primarily by ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro.  These stocks collectively pulled the benchmark Sensex 145 points lower. However gains in SBI, Reliance and Infosys limited the losses.
 
At 12:47am, the 30-share Sensex was trading 21 points higher from its previous close, at 22,193 levels and the 50-unit Nifty was up 8 points at 6,649 levels.
 
The rupee too pared initial gains marginally, after it touched its highest levels since July 30, 2013 in early trades. It was last seen trading at 60.14-a-dollar.
 

Broader markets remained resilient despite the dip in the barometer Sensex, BSE mid-cap index is up almost 1% while small-cap is up 0.7% against Sensex's marginal drop. 

 
Among other stocks that are buzzing at this hour, GM Breweries has spurted 18% to Rs 130 on the NSE after the company said that its board will meet on April 3, to consider a maiden bonus issue proposal.
 
Claris Lifesciences has dipped nearly 8% to Rs 158 on back of heavy volumes on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).  The stock is turns ex-buyback of shares today.
 
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is trading higher by 2% at Rs 2,635 after drug maker said that it has launched generic version of Pfizer's Caduet tablets, a cholesterol-lowering drug, in US market.

 
On sectors, barring capital goods and FMCG, all sectoral indices continue to trade with gains at this hour. BSE Realty, power, metal indices, up between 0.8-1.2%, led the gains in sectors that track variuos industrial sectors at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
 
Advance decline ratio of stocks listed on the BSE reflects bullish sentiment at this hour; 1448 stocks advanced against a decline seen in 1059 stocks.
 
Globally, Asian stocks surged tracking positive data from the US. U.S. economy grew at 2.6%, faster than estimated earlier in the fourth quarter, showed data released recently
 
A day earlier the rollover percentage for Nifty futures was lower than the three-month average, rollovers for overall market positions were in line with the average. About 56-57 per cent of Nifty futures positions were rolled over, whereas the overall market rollover was about 71 per cent, according to provisional data. The NSE Nifty closed at 6,641 on Thursday, up 0.6 per cent from its previous close. Analysts are sceptical about the Nifty crossing 6,700 levels.

 
Globally, China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.2 percent or 6 points at 2,052.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.2 percent or 261 points at 22,024.59. Japan's Nikkei was flat at 14,610.45. Singapore's Straits Times rose 0.51 percent or 16.23 points at 3,178.69. South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.15 percent or 3.01 points at 1,980.98. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted added 0.33 percent or 28.65 points at 8,808.22.