Equities indices flat in early trading, metal stocks gain

Equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on Thursday in line with Asian markets due to weak volumes after the Christmas holiday.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S & P Sensex was down by 7 points to 41,455 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 3 points at 12,212.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed. Nifty metal rose by 0.47 per cent but Nifty pharma slipped by 0.29 per cent and PSU bank by 0.21 per cent.

Among stocks, Tata Steel gained by 1.2 per cent to Rs 468.80 per share while JSW Steel moved up by 1.1 per cent. The other prominent gainers were Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Yes Bank.

However, Dr Reddy's, Zee Entertainment, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel and ONGC traded with marginal losses.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets traded flat following Christmas Day. The Shanghai Composite was up by 0.28 per cent and the Nikkei 225 in Japan was 0.44 per cent higher.

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