Benchmarks trade flat; auto shares in demand

The domestic equity benchmarks traded almost flat with some positive bias in morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 15,750 mark. Auto shares witnessed some bit of value buying after declining in the past three sessions.

At 10:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 47.87 points or 0.09% to 52,741.44. The Nifty 50 index added 9.40 points or 0.06% to 15,741.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.49% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.64%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1968 shares rose and 957 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.

Volatility persisted in markets across the globe ahead of the US Fed's decision on interest rates, which will be announced later today. Friday's red-hot inflation data from the US has raised the market expectations of an interest rate hike by 75 basis points, the largest in 28 years.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.29% to 11,247.35. The index had declined 2.76% in the past three sessions.

Tube Investments of India (up 2.82%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.6%), Tata Motors (up 1.54%), MRF (up 1.27%) and Balkrishna Industries (up 1.17%) were the top gainers.

Further, Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.14%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.01%), Bosch (up 0.57%), Eicher Motors (up 0.47%) and Escorts (up 0.43%) edged higher.

Bajaj Auto shed 0.07%. The company said that Shekhar Bajaj has tendered his resignation as non-executive director of the company due to health reasons.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Engineers India rose 2.04%. The company has been engaged as Project Management consultant (PMC) by Neyveli Lignite Corporation for its landmark Lignite to Methanol project, first of its kind in India.

PNB Housing Finance added 3.51%. The company's board of directors approved the issuance of non-convertible debentures aggregating up to Rs 2,000 crore on a private placement basis.

Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals jumped 6.56%. The company has successfully commissioned Hydrogen Generating Plant from Biogas produced from biomass/ process effluent at its new manufacturing unit commissioned at Phagwara (Punjab).

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