Sensex Turns Flat After Hitting Record High; HDFC Weighs

The 50-share Nifty edged down after hitting a record high on Thursday amid a selloff in index heavyweight stocks such as HDFC, Infosys and Reliance Industries. ITC, which has the largest weightage in the Nifty, was the only saviour for the blue chip benchmark today.

ITC, India's biggest cigarette maker, retained its position as the top Nifty gainer. The stock traded 4.5 per cent higher on reports the government may not ban the sale of loose cigarettes, which account for 65 to 70 per cent of total cigarette sale in India. Other tobacco companies such as Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries also traded higher.

The Bank Nifty trended lower, but ICICI Bank gained on 1:5 stock split, which became effective today. ONGC gained nearly 1 per cent on reports that the government is considering reworking the subsidy sharing formula in a bid to lower its discount burden and boost the state-run oil company's profits.

Metal, consumer durables and IT stocks underperformed today, pulling down broader markets. Tata Power was the top Nifty loser, down nearly 2 per cent. Hindalco, Zee Entertainment, Bharti Airtel and Coal India were other big Nifty losers.

Mortgage lender HDFC was down over 1.3 per cent. Infosys and Reliance Industries traded with nearly 0.5 per cent losses.

Among smaller stocks, Alok Industries jumped 12.5 per cent on heavy volumes. However, Budget carrier SpiceJet, which had run up sharply on Monday, saw selling pressure and fell over 4 per cent.

Earlier, the Sensex jumped 350 points above the 28,800 mark and the Nifty gained over 85 points to a day high of 8,627 in morning trade. The gains came after three days of consolidation.

As of 11.50 a.m., the Nifty was flat at 8,537, while the Sensex traded 40 points higher at 28,482.