Markets open flat; US Fed meet in focus

Markets have started the trading session on a flat note as investors turned cautious ahead of the start of the two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting starting today.



By 9:30, the Sensex was lower by 7 points at 26,810 mark and the Nifty slipped by 5 points at 8,037 levels.



On macro front, India's merchandise exports registered a small increase of 2.35% at $26.95 billion in August 2014 over August 2013, data released by the government.



Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the finance ministry on Monday to hasten the process of resolving differences with and between states on the national goods and services tax (GST).



Meanwhile, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said that although the WPI has shrunk to a five-year low in August but there is no point in lowering interest rates to have inflation picking up again.



The provisional data released by the stock exchanges after trading hours on Monday showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 74.59 crore on that day.



GLOBAL MARKETS



Wall Street had a mixed session on Monday after weekend data showed China's factory output in August grew at its slowest pace in nearly six years, raising fears the world's second-largest economy was losing momentum.



The Fed's Open Market Committee will begin its regular two-day policy meeting later on Tuesday, and investors will be scanning the outcome for clues on the timing of the first US rate hike in more than eight years.



Asian shares cautiously edged higher on Tuesday as investors awaited a US Federal Reserve meeting beginning later in the session, as expectations of a more hawkish Fed stance on monetary policy underpinned the dollar.



MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.MIAPJ0000PUS was slightly higher in early trade.



Japan's Nikkei stock average shed 0.4%, catching up after Tokyo markets were closed for a local holiday on Monday.



SECTORS & STOCKS



BSE Realty and Healthcare indices have gained by almost 1% followed by counters like Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, IT, Power and Oil & Gas, all gaining marginally. However, sectors like Auto, Banks and Metal are trading marginally in negative zone.



The main losers on the Sensex are Hindalco, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors, Coal India, Tata Steel, M&M and HUL.



Tata Motors reported a 9.7% decline in global sales to 73,524 units in August.



On the gaining side, BHEL, Wipro, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Sun Pharma, L&T and Infosys have gained between 0.3-1%.



The engineering and manufacturing major, Bharat Heavy Electricals will develop a 20 Mw solar power plant at Manamunda industrial estate in Boudh district. The stock s is the top Sensex gainer, up over 1%.



Larsen & Toubro said that its construction division has won new orders worth Rs 2050 crore across various business segments in August 2014 and September 2014.



Wipro Arabia, a subsidiary of India's third largest IT firm Wipro, has bagged a contract from Saudi-based Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for implementing and rolling out plant maintenance and project system functionality of SAP ERP application.



The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have surged between 0.5-1%.



The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,091 shares advancing and 378 shares declining.