Indian shares are trading little changed in early trading on Wednesday ahead of the expiry of near-month F&O contracts tomorrow. U.S. stocks ended on a lackluster note overnight and other Asian markets are trading on a mixed note this morning, dampening investor sentiment to some extent.
Data released today showed that China's manufacturing activity improved in February despite remaining in the negative territory. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a four-month high of 49.7 in February from 48.8 in January, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction of the sector.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex is currently up 7 points or 0.04 percent at 18,436, while the broader Nifty index is down 0.1 percent. Second-line stocks are extending recent gains, with BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes rising 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Reliance Industries is gaining a percent after the energy giant announced the formation of a $450 million joint venture with Russian petrochemical company Sibur to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of butyl rubber a year in Jamnagar.
ONGC is gaining 2.5 percent ahead of a ministerial meeting on February 24 to consider proposals relating to disinvestment in the company. Shares of Allahabad Bank are largely unchanged ahead of a board meet today to consider a preferential share issue.
Sesa Goa is up nearly 2 percent and Sterlite Industries is edging up half a percent on reports of a corporate restructuring. Kingfisher Airlines is adding 2.2 percent after state-run lender SBI reportedly threw in a lifeline of around Rs.1,200 crore to the cash-strapped airline to help defreeze the company's bank accounts.
Bank of India is moving up 1.5 percent on receiving board approval to raise funds via a preferential share issue to the government and state-run insurer LIC. Jubilant Life Sciences is up nearly 2 percent after its arm, Jubilant Biosys, entered into drug discovery collaboration with U.S.-based Mnemosyne Pharmaceutical.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty ended up around 0.8 percent each on Tuesday after Euro zone finance ministers reached an agreement on a 130 billion euro deal for Greece, which will help the cash-strapped nation avoid a disorderly default on its debt next month.
Realty stocks paced the gainers after the new consumer price inflation data, released for the first time on a year-over-year basis, suggested that there is more room for further monetary policy easing.
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