Benchmarks trade almost flat; IT stocks edge higher

The key equity indices pared initial gains and traded near the flat line in morning trade. The Nifty was trading below the 16,650 mark. IT stocks were in demand.

At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 49.08 points or 0.09% to 55,517.98. The Nifty 50 index added 19.15 points or 0.12% to 16,625.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.54% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.01%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2345 shares rose and 655 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index rose 1.61% to 34,261.95. The index had declined 0.38% to end at 33,720 yesterday.

Tech Mahindra (up 3%), Wipro (up 2.70%), L&T Technology Services (up 2.55%), Coforge (up 2.49%), Mphasis (up 2.35%), MindTree (up 2.33%), HCL Tech (up 2.09%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 1.64%) and Infosys (up 1.34%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) shed 0.15% to Rs 2394.70. Reliance Strategic Business Ventures (RSBVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, announced a joint venture with Sanmina Corporation (Sanmina) for electronic manufacturing in India. RSBVL will hold 50.1% equity stake in the joint venture entity with Sanmina owning the remaining 49.9%.

Maruti Suzuki India lost 0.24% to Rs 7794.80. The company said its production witnessed a marginal increase last month. In a filing, the auto major reported total production of 1,69,692 units in February, compared to 1,68,180 units in the same month last year. "The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles during the month," it added.

Oberoi Realty added 0.88% to Rs 898.50. Global investment bank Morgan Stanley has picked up 3.35 lakh sq ft of office space in commercial tower Oberoi Commerz III in the Goregaon suburb of Mumbai for a long-term tenure from real estate developer Oberoi Realty.

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