Benchmarks trade slightly in red in early deals on Thursday morning

Indian equity benchmarks after a positive opening were altering between positive and negative territory, now trading flat with a negative bias on the back of feeble global cues. Some cautious also prevailed ahead of the government announcement of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data on Friday. Also, the first quarter corporate results season will kick off today with TCS announcing its Q1 results. However, some losses were capped with global rating agency Standard & Poor's statement that the confidence level in India continues to grow amid indications of slower growth ahead for the Asia-Pacific region. At present, Sensex and Nifty were trading below the crucial 27,700 and 8,350 levels respectively. However, the session is productive for broader indices, which were trading with gains in the range of 0.20-0.40%. In scrip specific development, Eros International Media was trading higher on reports that the company is in advanced talks to sell a stake in its Eros Now unit to Singapore-based Fullerton Fund Management Co.

On the global front, the US indices ended lower as market turmoil in China eclipsed Greece's debt crisis. Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the overnight fall in the US stock market  as concerns over China's market turmoil spread, while the yen shot to a seven-week high.

Back home traders are seen piling position in Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Realty and power while, selling was witnessed in IT, TECK, Oil & Gas and Auto. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1173: 549 while 70 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27658.52, down by 29.20 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 27637.31 and 27798.13. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.19%, while Small cap index gained 0.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.12%, Consumer Durables up by 0.85%, Healthcare up by 0.73%, Realty up by 0.63% and Power up by 0.52%, while IT down by 0.99%, TECK down by 0.54%, Oil & Gas down by 0.52% and Auto down by 0.38% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.14%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.42%, Lupin up by 1.05%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 0.83% and BHEL up by 0.80%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.26%, Tata Motors down by 2.01%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.40%, Infosys down by 0.92% and GAIL India down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) latest report - 'Asia-Pacific Could Be Entering A Steady State Of Slower Growth', is likely to boost the sapping morale of the investors and the government, as it has said that the confidence level in India continues to grow amid indications of slower growth ahead for the Asia-Pacific region.S&P stated that 'In India, confidence continues to rise despite concerns about investment quality. It added that our forecasts of 7.4 percent growth for 2015 and 8.2 percent for 2016 are the highest in the region.”

It was highlighted that China's property market correction continues to be the region's main risk, with growth forecasts for China in 2015 and 2016 remaining unchanged at 6.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively, with the risks still slanted toward the downside. The report also said that the incipient recovery in the US, particularly for durable goods consumption, has yet to lead to a sustained export bounce in Asia-Pacific.

The report however stated that the Asia-Pacific growth story is not all gloom and doom and the pace of activity is picking up in Japan, the agency said it has raised its forecasts to 0.9 per cent for 2015 and 1.3 per cent for 2016.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8349.20, down by 13.85 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 8348.15 and 8400.30. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.11%, Yes Bank up by 1.91%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.42%, ACC up by 1.21% and Ambuja Cement up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.98%, TCS down by 1.77%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.34%, BPCL down by 1.21% and Infosys down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 128.45 points or 0.65% to 19,609.19, Taiwan Weighted decreased 82.5 points or 0.92% to 8,893.61, Jakarta Composite decreased 58.68 points or 1.2% to 4,812.90, Straits Times decreased 9.43 points or 0.29% to 3,275.56, KOSPI Index decreased 4.18 points or 0.21% to 2,012.03.

On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3 points or 0.18% to 1,698.83, Shanghai Composite increased 45.58 points or 1.3% to 3,552.78 and Hang Seng increased 783.59 points or 3.33% to 24,300.15.