Business: Equity indices flat after historic contraction in Q1 GDP

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on Tuesday as official figures released a day earlier showed 23.9 per cent fall in the economy during the first quarter of the current financial year.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex up by 85 points or 0.22 per cent at 38,714 while the Nifty 50 gained by 27 points or 0.24 per cent at 11,415.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty metal gaining by 2.5 per cent, pharma by 1.9 per cent, private bank by 1.3 per cent and auto by 1.2 per cent.
Among stocks, JSW Steel was up by 2.5 per cent to Rs 276.55 per share, Hindalco by 2 per cent and Tata Steel by 2 per cent. The other prominent gainers were IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Bharti Infratel, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Finance. However, ONGC dipped by 2.8 per cent to Rs 79.65 per share. Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC and energy majors like GAIL, IndianOil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Coal India traded with a negative bias. Meanwhile, Asian stocks edged higher after strong readings on China's vast manufacturing sector offset the weak lead from a softer Wall Street session.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.2 per cent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong traded 0.18 per cent higher while the Shanghai Composite also recovered early losses to stand 0.1 per cent higher.

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Japan's Nikkei erased early losses to trade flat. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a decade in August due to the first increase in new export orders this year. (ANI)

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