Benchmark indices traded little changed on Thursday amid geopolitical tensions over possible US strike on Syria. Asian stocks opened mixed as US stocks fell on Wednesday after President Donald Trump taunted Russia on Twitter to “get ready” for a possible missile strike on Syria.  Traders are also awaiting consumer price index-based inflation data due later in the day. The government will issue Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data and CPI data on Thursday.  According to Bloomberg analysts estimate, CPI will be at 4.2% in March against 4.44% a month ago, and IIP to be at 7% for February, compared to 7.5% in January.

9.47 am IST
OMCs shares fall on rising oil prices
Shares of oil marketing companies fell further after crude prices hits a fresh four-year high. Hindustan Petroleum Corp fell 2.3%, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd 2.4%, Indian Oil Corp Ltd 2%

9.45 am IST
IT stocks trade higher
IT stocks gained after rupee weakened to fresh five-month low. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd rose 1.7%, Infosys Ltd rose 1%, HCL Technology 1%, Tech Mahindra Ltd 1%.

9.43 am IST
IDBI Bank shares fall 3% after RBI fine
IDBI Bank shares fell 2.8% to Rs70.10 after the Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs3 crore on the bank.

9.40 am IST
India GDP growth will pick up in 2018-19 to 7.3%, says ADB
Asian Development Bank sees improved rural consumption and modest rise in private sector investment aiding growth in the Indian economy even as the debilitating effects of demonetisation and GST dissipate

Investors look for corporate earnings that will begin tomorrow and macro data due later in the day.

Oil retailers extended previous day’s losses, falling up to 3 percent after further spike in crude oil prices yesterday on tensions in Middle East.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation were down between 1-3 percent while state-run oil explorer ONGC gained a percent.

Oil markets remained tense on concerns of a military escalation in Syria, but prices were some way off Wednesday’s 2014 highs as bulging American supplies weighed.

Brent crude futures were at USD 72.42 per barrel, up 0.50 percent from their last close, at the time of writing this article.

9:27 am Tech Stocks: Technology stocks outperformed benchmark indices, taking advantage of falling rupee. The Nifty IT index jumped 1.6 percent.

9:22 am Bond Yield: The 10-year government bond yield fell after sharp rally in previous session, declining 5 basis points to 7.48 percent in morning.

In previous session, the bond yield jumped 15 basis points to close at 7.53 percent.

9:18 am Rupee Trade: The rupee extended losses, falling 0.2 percent to 65.44 against the US dollar after opening flat.

It closed at 65.31 against the US dollar in previous session.

9:15 am Market Update: Benchmark indices opened flat amid weak global cues and spike in crude oil prices, as investors await corporate earnings and macro data.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 47.56 points at 33,988 while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 17.40 points to 10,399.80.

source: moneycontrol.com