The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday opened flat tracking losses across global markets following US Fed's hawkish minutes that showed officials reaffirmed the need for more rate hikes ahead. At 9.50 am, the BSE Sensex was marginally up by 27 points to 65,472. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,409, up 11 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Nestle, Reliance, PowerGrid, Sun Phrama, Tata Motors, L&T were among the early gainers. On the downside, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, TechM, HCL emerged losers. Among specific stocks, DCB Bank soared 6 per cent after the RBI approved Tata Asset Management to acquire 7.5 per cent stake in the bank through the schemes of Tata Mutual Fund.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose up to 0.4 per cent versus the flat Sensex index.
Sectorwise, Nifty Realty was the top gainer, up 1 per cent. PSBs and oil & gas pockets also held firm gains, while others were muted.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 33 points lower at 65,446, while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 19,399, up 10 points.
"Negative sentiment across the global equities could see local benchmarks struggle in early Thursday trade, with profit-taking likely to continue after yesterday's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes meeting hinted that another rate hike in July is on the table. Other factors that could weigh on sentiment are US-China tensions, drop in industrial activity in China in June, and overbought technical conditions back home," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets ended in the negative territory on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.21 per cent to $76.49 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought equities worth Rs 1,603.15 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to 82.45 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by strength of the American currency in the overseas market and elevated crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.36, then fell to 82.45, registering a decline of 20 paise over its last close.
On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 82.25 against the dollar. Forex traders said the US dollar gained on safe haven demand amid risk aversion and rising expectations of a hawkish US Federal Reserve monetary policy in July. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 103.40.