Domestic equity markets opened flat as selling pressure in select auto stocks negates strength in information technology stocks. At 9:18 am, BSE Sensex is up 30 points at 61,749 and NSE Nifty is down three points at 18,413. In the broader markets, BSE Midcap Index and BSE Smallcap Index are trading with a decline of 0.2 per cent.
Overnight, US stock indexes closed higher, with the biggest boost from the technology and healthcare sectors, as investors appeared to bet on a solid quarterly report. The Dow Jones gained 0.56 per cent, the S&P 500 0.74 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.71 per cent.
Asia-Pacific shares were mixed on Wednesday morning as China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed with a gain of 0.6 per cent and the Topix index gained 0.55 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.13 percent.
On the earnings front, Jubilant Foodworks, Havells India, L&T Finance Holdings, Angel Broking and Asian Paints will announce their Q2 numbers during the day.
On the stock-specific front, Nestle, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and HCL Tech have gained 1-2 per cent on the BSE. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv have lost around one per cent each on the BSE.
The breadth of the BSE market is weak. Out of 2,841 shares traded on BSE, 899 are advance shares as against 1826 declines.
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