The Indian markets are moving sideways in early trading on Friday, mirroring weak Asian cues. Also, investors await WPI September inflation data for further direction in teems of the RBI's policy and view on interest rates.
Other Asian stock markets are declining across the board, albeit posting modest losses, after global credit rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Spain's credit rating by one notch and Fitch Ratings said it is reviewing its ratings for Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and five European banks.
Global growth fears also resurfaced as Singapore cut its 2011 GDP forecast and eased its monetary policy for the first time in two years.
Trading choppily in a narrow range, the benchmark 30-share Sensex is currently trading up 40 points or 0.24 percent at 16,924, with 18 of its components advancing.
Jindal Steel, Sun Pharma, Tata Power, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Hero Moto, Reliance Industries, TCS and Bharti Airtel are on buyers' radar, while DLF, Tata Steel, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, Jaiprakash and Hindalco are pacing declines.
The broader Nifty index on the NSE is rising 7 points or 0.15 percent and the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes are moving up 0.1 percent and 0.36 percent, respectively.
Metal stocks are coming under selling pressure with Hindalco and Tata Steel declining 1-3 percent. Maruti Suzuki is losing 2.1 percent as the strike by workers at its Manesar plant entered its eight day and a high court refused to declare the strike illegal.
SBI is edging down marginally. Reports suggest that the performance of its new management has come under the scanner of the government for a change in policies, especially with respect to provisioning for bad loans. Private sector lender ICICI Bank is little changed and HDFC Bank is posting a modest 0.1 percent loss.
Kingfisher is down nearly 7 percent even as state-run oil retailer HPCL resumed fuel supplies to the airline. Spicejet is rallying 3.3 percent after the low-cost carrier allotted 3.59 crore equity shares at a premium of Rs 26.48 a share to the company's promoter Kalanithi Maran on a preferential basis.
Godrej Consumer Products is down 0.9 percent after the company completed the acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Darling Group in Mozambique.
Market heavyweight Reliance Industries is edging up 0.7 percent ahead of its second-quarter results tomorrow. CRISIL is climbing 10.5 percent after the credit ratings company proposed to consider a share buy back.
Shares of a few public sector undertakings like NTPC are posting modest gains after the government approved a new policy that would allow profit-making state-owned companies to acquire raw material assets abroad. Coal India is declining 2.7 percent after its workers who went on a nationwide one-day strike on Oct. 10 said they will continue to push for higher bonus payments.
Tijaria Polypipes is rising 4 percent on its debut compared with its initial public offering price of Rs.60 a share. Century Textiles is rallying 3.5 percent on reports that it may merge its cement business with Ultratech.
The benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty fell about 0.4 percent each on Thursday, as investors took some profits after recent sharp gains amid mixed global cues.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.