The key Indian equity indices continue to be nearly unchanged around the noon time, as investors remain wary of the ongoing earnings season ahead of next week's RBI policy meeting.
While overall corporate results have been okay, there have been a few nasty surprises and the market is worried that rising borrowing costs and spiraling commodity prices will continue to cast a shadow on India Inc.'s report card in the coming weeks and months.
The undertone is also subdued on account of a rather listless performance in other Asian markets. While the Chinese market has managed to recover from early lows, other indices are in the red.
In other asset classes, crude oil dropped from a 31-month high in New York on worries that a slowdown in the US economy could hurt the demand for fuels in the world’s biggest energy market. The Dollar index fell to its lowest level. The yen appreciated versus all of its major counterparts. Gold futures surged to a record for the second straight day.
At 12:14 pm (IST), the BSE Sensex was trading at 19,252, down 39 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 19,356 and a day's low of 19,212. It opened at 19,292.
NSE Nifty was trading at 5.775, down 10 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 5,804 and a day's low of 5,764. It opened at 5,782.
Ambuja Cement, Sun Pharma, HUL, Siemens, Ranbaxy, Maruti Suzuki, RPower, HCL Tech, RCOM, BHEL, Power Grid, RIL, JP Associate and Cairn India were among the notable leaders in the Sensex and the Nifty.
Axis Bank, Hero Honda, Reliance Capital, HDFC, HDFC Bank, M&M, L&T, Hindalco, SAIL and Sterlite are among the notable losers in the Sensex and the Nifty.
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