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Benchmark indices recovered from the lows of the day and broke into the green territory as the European markets started on a positive note. Also, gains FMCG heavyweights like ITC and HUL along with HDFC Bank capped the losses in IT heavyweights.
At 1420 hrs, the Sensex was up 18 points at 20,279 and the Nifty added four points at 6,025.
In the broader markets, the midcap index was down 0.2% while the smallcap index was marginally up by 0.1%.
Among the sectoral indices, Realty index down 1.5% was the top sectoral loser followed by Capital Goods, Bankex, Oil & Gas, Teck and IT indices losing 0.2-0.9%.
Among the ones in the green, FMCG, Auto, Metal and Power indices were up 0.2-0.6%.
Gail India and BHEL down 2% each were the top losers among Sensex-30 in noon trades.
Axis Bank, Cipla, ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, L&T, TCS, Sesa Sterlite and ONGC down 0.7-1.5% were the other notable losers.
Coal India up 4%, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Power, Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco and HDFC Bank adding 1.5-3% were the major gainers.
Wipro, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and ITC were the other gainers up 1-1.5%.
In individual names, Bajaj Corp slipped 5% to Rs 209 after reporting 31% year on year decline in net profit at Rs 29 crore for Q3FY14, due to one-time expenditure of Rs 12 crore on brand amortization and higher other expenditure.
Astral Poly Technik has surged nearly 5% to Rs 374, also its new high on the BSE, after reporting a more than doubled net profit at Rs 21.32 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 on back of strong operational performance.
Godfrey Phillips India Limited (GPIL) is trading higher by 6% to Rs 2,905, extending its nearly 9% rally in past two trading sessions, after reporting a strong 43.8% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 70.74 crore for the third quarter.
The market breadth was negative on the BSE. 1,248 stocks declined while 1,144 stocks advanced.
Global Markets
Asian shares took a tentative step forward from five-month lows on Thursday, with investors hoping the European Central Bank (ECB) and upcoming U.S. jobs data can calm nerves strained by the emerging market selloff.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.8% after five days of losses, although Japan's Nikkei ended down 0.2% after a volatile trade.
European shares started with a green tick with all the major indices CAC, DAX and FTSE up 0.2-0.6%.
