Markets open flat; Hero Motocorp, ITC dip 1%

Markets have started the trading session on a flat note with a negative bias tracking weakness in the global markets.
By 9:20, the Sensex is lower by 26 points at 25,872 mark and the Nifty has slipped by 12 points at 7,735 levels.

In broader markets, BSE Midcap index is flat with a negative bias whereas BSE Smallcap index is up by 0.2%.

The market breadth on BSE remains marginally positive with 551 shares advancing and 358 shares declining.

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar held firm after a slump on Wall Street and tensions over Ukraine instilled a mood of risk aversion across markets.

Geopolitical concerns overshadowed upbeat U.S. economic data which included a spike in service-sector activity to a nine-year peak and a surprisingly large increase in factory orders.

For now, the drag from Wall Street was too much for regional markets and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan’s Nikkei slipped 1 percent. SGX Nifty is quoting at 7,746 down by 27.50 points. Furthermore, Japan's Topix was off 0.6 percent.

The Dow Jones had dropped 0.84 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.97 percent and the Nasdaq 0.71 percent. All 10 S&P 500 sectors ended lower, led by energy stocks, which shed 2.1 percent .SPNY as ample supply pressured oil prices.