Sensex turns flat, Nifty trades below 10,400; PSU banks drag

The benchmark indices turned flat after opening higher as gains in IT and metal stocks were offset by continued losses in public sector banks. 

Negative trend in Asian markets, which stalled their recovery post a slump in European equities also influenced the sentiment. 

At 9:20 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,803, up 29.14 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,378, up 0.15 point.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices underperformed to lose 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.

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Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On the BSE, 660 stocks declined, 578 stocks rallied, while 56 stocks remained unchanged. 

"We continue to expect Nifty retesting 10,200-10,033 in near future. Meanwhile, any bounce back towards 10,456-10,550 is likely to get sold into," said Angel Broking in a technical note.

Tata Steel (up 2 per cent), TCS (up 1 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (up 1 per cent) were the top gainers on the Sensex, while Adani Ports, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Auto slipped up to 1 per cent. 

Nifty PSU Bank was the leading loser among NSE indices and shed over 1 per cent. PNB (down 4 per cent), Allahabad Bank (down 3.6 per cent), Union Bank (down 3.1 per cent) and Bank of India (down 2 per cent) contributed most to the losses. 

Global markets

Asian stocks slipped. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.5 per cent. Australian stocks fell 0.3 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.7 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.85 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei retreated 1.25 per cent after three successive days of gains.

The pan-European STOXX index fell 0.6 per cent on Monday following a three-day ascent, dragged down by falls in consumer staples stocks. 

US markets were closed on Monday for a holiday, and the focus will be on whether Wall Street can maintain its recovery once trading resumes.

The Dow gained 4.5 percent last week, winning back more than half of the territory lost during a sharp downturn earlier in the month.