Indices trade with minor gains, Sensex gains 147 pts

The key equity indices pared all the losses and traded with minor gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded near the 17,000 level after hitting the day's low of 16,850.15 in the morning trade. Media, consumer durables and pharma stocks advanced while metal, IT and private bank shares corrected. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 147.43 points or 0.26% to 57,703.33. The Nifty 50 index rose 27.60 points or 0.16% to 16,999.75.

The broader market underperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.25% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.60%.

The market breadth was weak . On the BSE, 1,198 shares rose and 2,085 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

The initial sell-off came amidst risks of contagion in the global financial sector, after fresh turbulence at Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse announced that it will borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.68 billion) from the Swiss National Bank in what it called "decisive action" to boost its liquidity.

The decision came shortly after shares of the lender fell sharply on Wednesday after its largest investor, Saudi National Bank said it could not provide more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index rose 1.46% to 1,690.80. The index declined 1.22% in the past trading session.

Network 18 Media & Investments (up 4.42%), TV18 Broadcast (up 3.84%), Navneet Education (up 2.7%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 1.93%), PVR (up 1.53%) and Sun TV Network (up 0.51%) advanced.

On the other hand, New Delhi Television (down 2.34%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 1.75%) and Dish TV India (down 1.02%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

DLF gained 2.86% after the company announced that its latest luxury high-rise residence 'The Arbour' had witnessed pre-formal launch sales worth more than Rs 8,000 crore, in three days.

Paisalo Digital advanced 2.34% after Canara Bank approved a disbursal of Rs 75 crore as term loan for 5 years to the company for onward lending.

Shriram Finance rose 1.45% after the NBFC announced that its allotment committee-NCDs approved and allotted non-convertible debentures (NCDs) under two options, on private placement basis.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday as turmoil around Credit Suisse added onto banking fears in the region.

Credit Suisse announced it will be borrowing up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.68 billion) from the Swiss National Bank under a covered loan facility and a short-term liquidity facility.

The decision comes shortly after shares of the lender fell sharply Wednesday, hitting an all-time low for a second consecutive day after its top investor Saudi National Bank said it won't be able to provide further assistance.

US stocks pared losses late on Wednesday but the Dow and S&P 500 still closed lower, as problems at Credit Suisse revived fears of a banking crisis, eclipsing bets on a smaller US rate hike this month.

US retail sales and wholesale prices slipped in February. Retail sales contracted in February by 0.4% to $698 billion, down from a revised $701 billion a month earlier, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

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