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Benchmark indices are trading on a flat note as losses in select index heavyweights like ITC and ICICI Bank have wiped off the gains in information technology and auto stocks.
Traders are also likely to remain cautious ahead of the release of WPI inflation data for the month of December due later today.
At 9:32AM, the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty were flat at the mark of 28,438 and 8,305 respectively.
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have performed better than the front-liners with gains of 0.3% each. Market breadth in BSE is positive with 920 advances against 405 declines.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 235 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Buzzing Stocks
8 of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE are in green. BSE FMCG index, down 1.3% is the top loser followed by BSE Metal index, down 0.6% and BSE Bankex, down 0.3%. BSE IT and Teck indices have gained the most and are up around 0.6%.
IT shares are gaining in opening deals. Infosys and TCS have gained 0.7% each and Wipro is up 0.9%. TCS has gained ahead of its quarterly results due tomorrow.
Tata Motors has gained over 1% as Jaguar Land Rover sales for December 2014 rose 7% to 42,962 units compared with December 2013 and global sales for Tata Motors increased by 8%.
ITC has declined over 3% after the Centre on Tuesday moved to amend the anti-smoking law and proposed radical changes, including a ban on sale of loose cigarettes and raising the minimum age of a person buying tobacco products to 21 years from the existing 18.
Global Markets
Asian shares were trading mixed. Shares in Japan were trading lower tracking weakness in overnight trades on Wall Street. Meanwhile, the Japanese government today approved a record $812 billion budget for the coming fiscal year and also reduced borrowing for a third straight year.
The benchmark Nikkei was down over 1%. Shares in China extended gains on the back of encouraging trade data. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.5% while Hang Seng and Straits Times were up 0.1% each.
US stocks ended with marginal losses but came off their intra-day highs amid a volatile trading session weighed down by commodity stocks tracking weak commodity prices. Copper prices dropped below $6,000 per tonne to hit their lowest levels in over five years while oil prices touched near six-year lows before rebounding marginally. The Dow Jones ended 27 points down at 17,614, the broader S&P 500 lost 5 points at 2,023 and tech-laden Nasdaq ended down 3 points at 4,661.
