Equity indices flat amid lacklustre trading, private lenders lose

Equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on Tuesday tracking Asian peers which witnessed downside in early deals.

At 10:15 am, the BSE SandP Sensex was up by 40 points or 0.1 per cent at 40,634 while the Nifty 50 gained by 23 points or 0.2 per cent at 11,954.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with thin margins with Nifty private bank down by 0.7 per cent and PSU bank by 0.6 per cent.

But Nifty FMCG and IT rose by 0.5 per cent each.

Among stocks, the early gainers were Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, Eicher Motos, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel.However, ICICI Bank fell by 2.3 per cent to Rs 394.75 per share while IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and State Bank of India traded lower with thin margins.Meanwhile, Asian shares slipped despite a firmer Wall Street lead with a buoyant tech sector and fresh optimism about US stimulus expected to continue to support sentiment.