)
Markets were flat in early noon deals ahead of the expiry of July derivative contracts today. At 1200 hrs, the Sensex was down six points at 26,081 and the Nifty was off eight points to trade at 7,783.
Also, foreign investors were sellers of $63.4 million, their first in ten sessions, also weighed on the investor sentiment.
However, there was some strength in broader markets with the mid and smallcap indices up 0.6% each.
Sectors & Stocks
Consumer Durables, Auto, IT and FMCG indices were down 0.1-0.6% were the only indices in red. On the other hand, Metal, Oil & Gas and Realty indices firmed by nearly 1% each.
ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki are expected to announce their Q1 numbers today. Both the scrips were marginally in green.
Tata Steel, Cipla, RIL and Gail India up 1-3% were the top gainers among Sensex-30.
Among the ones in red were Wipro, ITC, Dr Reddys Lab and Mahindra & Mahindra down nearly a percent each.
In broader markets, Cadila Healthcare tanked 5% to Rs 1,104 after Citigroup, according to reports, downgraded the company on account of high valuations.
Force Motors has rallied over 7% to Rs 569 after huge block deal executed on the counter on the BSE.
Torrent Pharmaceuticals and IRB Infrastructure surged 3% and 7% respectively on good Q1 performance.
Talwalkars Better Value Fitness surged 9% to Rs 226 on reports that British health and fitness group David Lloyd is buying around 20% stake in Mumbai-based the health fitness chain.
The market breadth was positive on BSE. 1,403 stocks advanced while 1,050 stocks declined.
