Sensex, Nifty flat in early trade; Pantaloon Retail up 9%

Moneycontrol Bureau

Key indices were flat in early trade, awaiting fresh triggers to build on the recent rally. Brokers said strong third quarter earnings that have been reported so far, has been discounted and the focus is now on the RBI monetary policy review meeting next Tuesday.

The Sensex was at 20115, up 13 points and the Nifty was at 6091, up 9 points. 

Pantaloon Retail led gainers, with the stock up over 9 percent to Rs 265.10. Metal, power and banking shares were steady in early trade, while IT, FMCG and capital goods shares were subdued.

Brokers said a 25 basis point-cut in interest rate by the RBI has already been discounted, and shares would rally only if the cut was more than that.

But chances of a 50 basis point-cut appear slim after RBI governor D Subbarao last week said inflation was still high and tackling it would be the central bank’s priority.

Among other gainers, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Havells India and NTPC were up around 2 percent each.

Laggards included Opto Circuits, Max India HCL Tech and Bharti Airtel, which were down between 1-2 percent.