Equity indices flat after historic contraction in Q1 GDP

Equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on September 01 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 SandP 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.