Trades Turn Flat, Cipla Up Over 5%

The Indian markets opened on a negative note, taking cues from the global markets. At present, the markets are trading on a flat note, with no major news on any front. The Sensex is down 0.04% and Nifty is down by 0.15%. Among the sectoral indices, IT, Teck, Bankex and Oil & Gas are currently in losses. On the other hand, Healthcare is up more than 1%. Other indices like Power, Realty and Capital Goods are also trading marginally higher.

In the other Asian markets, Hang Seng and Shanghai are in the green zone, while Nikkei is trading down by over 1%. This is after media reports which suggest that China’s manufacturing teetered on the edge of contraction in Jul 2012 and major Japanese companies like Honda Motor and Komatsu fell short of their profit estimates.

Back home, Coal India plunged 3.3% to Rs 347.45 and is the leading index loser. This was after the news that the company's board has cleared the Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) with a revision in the penalty clause. HDFC Bank, Wipro and Bharti Airtel are down by more than 1%. Auto stocks like Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, as well as FMCG majors ITC and HUL are also down in the red zone.

Cipla is the leading gainer so far today, up by 5.2% at Rs 356.15. The company reported a good set of Jun quarter numbers. Investors are also seeing some buying opportunities in stocks like Jindal Steel, SBI, Tata Steel, RIL and L&T, and these are trading higher in the green zone.

Voltas is trading down 3.16% at Rs 102.70 after the stock turned ex-dividend today. Earlier, the company had declared a dividend of Rs 1.60 per share for FY12. More action can be expected on the counter, as the company is due to post its quarterly numbers later in the day.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is strong as of now. On the BSE, 1391 shares have declined, 622 shares have advanced and 85 shares are unchanged.

Ahead today, expect the markets to remain volatile, with a negative bias.