Sensex, Nifty trade flat; Coal India, Bharti Airtel lose

Domestic equities opened flat on Thursday after better-than-expected Q4 GDP results, and the US House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling.

BSE benchmark Sensex opened 46.38 points, or 0.07per cent to 62,668.62, while broader NSE Nifty50 rose 7.85 per cent, or 0.04 per cent to 18,542.25.

By 9.20 am, key indices slipped in red, as Sensex was down 73.33 points, or 0.12 per cent to trade at 62,548.91, while Nifty50 fell 14.80 points, or 0.08 per cent to trade at 18,519.60.

Broader markets were outperforming in the opening trade, as Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.83 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 250 climbed 0.74 per cent, and Nifty Smallcap 50 jumped 0.72 per cent.

Sectorally, the media and realty indices jumped 0.84 per cent, Nifty Healthcare Index gained 0.73 per cent, the metal and pharma indices gained 0.62 per cent, and the IT index jumped 0.59 per cent.

Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Britannia, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, Grasim, NTPC, and IndusInd Bank were the top losers in the opening trade.

On the other hand, Apollo Hospital, Divis Lab, BPCL, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy, Hindustan Unilever were the top gainers at this hour.