Stock Market: Sensex, Nifty Pare Early Gains, Trade Flat. ICICI Bank Jumps 1.5 Per Cent

On the 30-share Sensex platform, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Titan, SBI, HCL, IndusInd Bank were among the early gainers. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, TCS, ITC, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Airtel emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty that opened higher, erased their gains and started trading flat during early morning trade on Monday. During the week, investors will also be keeping a close watch on corporate earnings. At 9.50 am, the BSE Sensex was up 44 points to 59,699. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty was trading at 17,640, up 16 points.  

On the 30-share Sensex platform, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Titan, SBI, HCL, IndusInd Bank were among the early gainers. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, TCS, ITC, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Airtel emerged losers.

Among stocks, YES Bank shares fell 2.5 per cent after the private sector lender saw a 45 per cent YoY decline in net profit to Rs 202 crore in Q4FY23, due to doubling of provisions. NII, further, grew 15.4 per cent in the March quarter to Rs 2,105 crore on the back of a 0.30 per cent expansion in the net interest margin.

Wipro shares added 1 per cent as the IT services firm is reconsidering a buy back proposal of equity shares, and the final decision will be taken on April 26-27. Sun Pharmaceuticals shares dropped 2.4 per cent as the US health regulator, United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), is set to take corrective actions at the Mohali facility before releasing further final product batches into the US.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were mixed with the former in the red, and the latter in the green.

Sectorwise, Nifty Media, Pharma, and Realty indices fell up to 1 per cent, while the Nifty Bank index was up 0.5 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, the BSE Sensex settled at 59,655, up 23 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended almost unmoved at 17,624.

In the Asia Pacific region, stocks were showing mixed trends as Japan's Nikkei 225 was trading in the positive territory, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's SSE Composite Index were trading lower. On Friday, the US market as well as most of the European benchmark indices closed with gains.

In a pre-market open note, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said Indian markets could open mildly higher, despite mixed Asian markets today and in line with higher US markets on Friday.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net sellers on Friday as they offloaded domestic equities worth Rs 2,116.76 crore, as per exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.92 per cent to $80.91 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading in a narrow range in the morning session on Monday as positive sentiment over domestic equities rise and easing crude oil price were partially negated by a stronger American currency in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.08 against the dollar. It touched an early high of 82.05 in initial deals. The rupee on Friday settled at 82.06 against the US dollar.