BSE Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat; PSU Stocks in Focus

BSE Sensex and Nifty were flat today after edging up at open amid some weakness in IT stocks. BSE Sensex was up 29 points to 28,591 while Nifty rose 3 points to 8,567.

The BSE midcap and smallcap indices were up nearly 0.3 per cent, continuing their recent outperformance.

Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava as long as Nifty holds the 8450-8500 range, it could move up to 8,800 levels. But if it falls below 8368 levels, the selling pressure could accelerate, he added.

The government kicks off the divestment programme today by selling 5 per cent stake in SAIL. The floor price for SAIL offer for sale has been fixed at Rs 83 against its yesterday's close of Rs 85.25. Today, SAIL shares were down 1 per cent at 84.50.

ONGC in which the government also plans to sell shares as part of its divestment programme was up 0.50 per cent. The oil minister recently said that the government is reviewing the subsidy-sharing formula for the oil & gas major. Coal India, another probable divestment candidate, was up 0.50 per cent today.

Asian shares drifted while the dollar marked time on Friday ahead of the key U.S. jobs report later in the session that could help it retake ground lost to the euro overnight.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent, on track for a weekly loss of 0.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 0.2 per cent, but was on track for a weekly gain of more than 2 per cent. (With Agency Inputs)