Sensex, Nifty flat; Sun Pharma, HUL, Infosys laggards

Moneycontrol Bureau11:30 am Market outlook: The underlying strength in Indian consumption and demand continues to remain strong and the country's equity markets remains a favourite for investors globally, says Jaspal Bindra, Chairman, Centrum Group. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Bindra said he saw tremendous opportunity in the infrastructure sector and pointed to the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) as a step that would boost the productivity. He was also positive on the financial services arena, saying it had prospects for high growth as the space is still under penetrated and has large room for technological advancement.Don't miss: Tata Steel extends rally, up 2% as UK govt agrees to buy 25%

The market is absolutely  flat with positive triggers missing. Auto and metal stocks are still lending support to the market. The Sensex is up 6.55 points at 25886.93, and the Nifty down 2.35 points at 7909.70. About 1129 shares have advanced, 886 shares declined, and 127 shares are unchanged.

Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, ONGC, Maruti and M&M are top gainers while BHEL, Sun Pharma, HUL, Infosys and HDFC are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices climbed in Asia, heading for their third weekly gain after OPEC said it was open to fresh calls on freezing output despite the failure to reach a deal at the weekend.

A much-vaunted meeting Sunday in Doha collapsed after kingpin Saudi Arabia pulled out owing to bitter rival Iran's refusal to join in output limits. Tehran said it was still in the process of raising production after the removal of nuclear-linked Western sanctions in January.