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Markets opened flat on Thursday but are likely to remain choppy in the latter half of the trading session with the October derivative contracts set to expire today.
At 9:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 17 points at 27,115 and the 50-share Nifty was up 5 points at 8,095.
Foreign investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 786 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Major US share indices ended flat with negative bias on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve Bank at its two-day meeting ended its monetary stimulus measures of bond purchases and remained confident that the economy is on a growth track. The Dow Jones ended down 31 points at 16,974, the S&P 500 slipped 3 points at 1,982 and the tech-laden Nasdaq lost 15 points to close at 4,549.
Asian markets were trading mixed with shares in Japan gaining the most on the back of a weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei was up 0.7% while Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%. Further, Hang Seng was trading 0.4% lower while Straits Times was trading flat with positive bias.
The BSE Realty index was the top sectoral gainer following the announcement of FDI norms by the government for real estate followed by IT and Consumer Durables indices. However, Auto, Bankex, FMCG, Oil and Gas were among the losers in early trades.
Real estate companies gained after the government has relaxed the norms for allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction development sector. It is expected the move will boost affordable housing projects and smart cities across the country. In the real estate pack Sobha Developers, HDIL, Prestige Estates, Oberoi Realty, DB Realty, Godrej Properties, DLF and Unitech were up 1-6% each.
Tech Mahindra was up over 4% after its reported encouraging July-September quarter earnings backed by strong growth in the US and better client mining. The Mumbai-based company reported a net profit of Rs 720 crore for the quarter ended September, almost flat compared to the year-ago quarter, owing to increase in total expenses. Revenues for the quarter under review were ahead of expectations at Rs 5,487 crore, up 13 per cent from same period last year, largely led by growth in the telecommunications and manufacturing segments.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap was trading flat while the Small-cap index was up 0.2%.
Market breadth was positive with 807 gainers and 586 losers on the BSE.
