Indian Market Modestly Lower In Opening Trade

The Indian market is subdued with little change on Friday, weighed by continued selling by foreign funds and negative Asian cues ahead of the year-end.

With auto, oil/gas and banking stocks leading the declines, the 30-share Sensex is currently posting a modest 0.1% loss, while the 50-share Nifty is down 0.15%. However, second-line stocks are finding some support. In the broader market, gaining shares are outpacing declining ones by 1464 to 832 shares on the BSE.

Among heavyweights, Tata Motors (down 1.47%), ICICI Bank (down 1.06%), BHEL (down 0.86%), Hero Honda Motors (down 0.83%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.77%) and HDFC (down 0.63%) are the top losers.

Tata Steel is rising 0.62% after global miner Rio Tinto made a new A$3.9 billion bid to take over Australia's Riversdale Mining , in which the Indian steel maker has a 24.2% stake.

Aurobindo Pharma is unchanged after it fixed February 11 as the record date for a stock split. India Infoline is rallying 3% on receiving board approval for a share buyback at a price not exceeding Rs.99 per share.

A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services is climbing nearly 4% after its disappointing debut in the previous session. Rasoya Proteins is gaining 1.18% on forming a subsidiary company in Sharjah. KNR Constructions is up a percent on establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.

Indian Hotels is advancing 0.96% after it received board approval to allot shares and warrants to Tata Sons on a preferential basis. Godfrey Phillips India (up 0.75%) and ITC (up 0.45%) are firm on reports that they have resumed cigarette production after getting clarification from the government on the kind of pictorial warnings to be carried on tobacco products.

State-run oil marketing companies such as BPCL, HPCL and IOC are down over 2% each, as crude oil prices surged to their highest level in two years.

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