Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat; Infosys Falls 4%

Indian stock markets were choppy in morning trade on Monday tracking mixed Asian shares and a weak rupee. Foreign investors sold stocks worth Rs 109 crore in cash market on Friday, which weighed on sentiments.

As of 9.25 a.m. Nifty traded 2 points lower at 8,536.15 and Sensex was down 1 point at 28,457.

The Nifty was weighted down by a sharp selloff in Infosys, which has the second largest weightage in the 50-share benchmark. Infosys fell 4 per cent and was the top loser in Nifty as four of its promoters sold 3.2 crore shares in the company at Rs 1,988 per share. As of September 30, promoters held 15.9 per cent stake in the company.

TCS, HCL Tech and DLF were the other losers on Nifty down between 1 to 2 per cent. The IT sub-index of National Stock Exchange was down 1.8 per cent.

Coal India gained over one per cent and was the top gainer in Nifty. Analysts say the good response to SAIL disinvestment augurs well for Coal India and ONGC, which are next in line for disinvestment. UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints and ITC were the other gainers on Nifty, up around 1 per cent each.

The broader indices were also flat. SpiceJet fell nearly 13 per cent to a day low of Rs 13.90 after the aviation regulator put several curb on the airlines operator. Its board is meeting today to take up recapitalisation plan of the company and payment of dues to vendors. The aviation regulator has asked the airline to submit a payment plan by December 15 to clear over Rs 1,500 crore dues to various vendors.