Benchmark indices end almost flat ahead of derivatives expiry

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty today eked out marginal gains in choppy trades on alternate bouts of buying and selling ahead of the expiry of May derivative contracts tomorrow.
Brokers attributed nearly stable market to rolling over positions in the futures and options (F&O) segment from May series to June before the expiry of equity derivatives.
IT, Teck and Realty counters attracted good buying while Metal, Consumer durable and Auto stocks recorded losses.
The BSE 30-share barometer resumed slightly better and moved erratically in a range of 24,643.33 and 24,488.81 before finishing at 24,556.09, a rise of 6.58 points or 0.03 per cent. Yesterday, it had fallen 167.37 points or 0.68 per cent.

Smart gains were seen in the likes of HDFC Bank, Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank, L&T, Bharti Airtel, Tata Power, Hero MotoCorp and Wipro. ONGC, Tata Motors, M&M, GDFC, Coal India, ITC, SBI, Sun Pharma and NTPC, among others, closed lower.
The wide-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also edged up by 11.65 points, or 0.16 per cent, to end at 7,329.65.

Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services said: "Local indices traded flat as foreign investors extended their selling, as some of them are booking profit at the higher levels. Also, investors are being cautious ahead of the expiry of May derivative contracts due Thursday."

Smallcaps outperformed large-caps on buying by retail investors. The BSE Smallcap index closed up 1.63 per cent.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 202.61 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Markets are now looking at RBI's Monetary policy next week and also the Union Budget in July by the new government, brokers said.
Excepting Singapore, which closed slightly weak, other Asian markets ended with gains after China reported increase in industrial profits. Indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan closed up in 0.24-0.97 per cent range.
European benchmarks were trading flat to positive in their early morning deals.