Nifty, Sensex recover to trade flat in morning trade; pharma stocks, smallcaps outperform

• The small caps are outperforming with the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 0.6% at 13,138.
• The pharma and the media stocks have gained a percent each in morning trade.
• Cipla is the top Nifty gainer, up 3.5% while Bajaj Finance is the top Nifty loser, down 1.3%.

Equity benchmark indices, the Nifty and the Sensex, declined in early trade on Wednesday but recovered in the first hour of trade. Amid sluggish global market trends and a spike in Brent crude oil prices, after a day's breather, the 30-share BSE Sensex, at the time of publishing, is trading absolutely flat at 66,427. Similarly the Nifty has managed to keep its head above the 19,800 mark.

While the Nifty Midcap 100 is in line with the benchmarks, the small caps are outperforming with the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 0.6% at 13,138.

Sectoral indices wise, the pharma and the media stocks have gained a percent each. Cipla is the top Nifty gainer, up 3.5% while Bajaj Finance is the top Nifty loser, down 1.3%.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, NTPC and Larsen & Toubro are the major laggards. Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma are among the gainers.

Varun Aggarwal, founder and managing director, Profit Idea, said, "Nifty is consolidating after crossing 19767 crucial resistances. Broader market is showing good strength. Many mid and small cap shares are looking attractive and going up. IT, Media, Metals, FMCG, Banks, Reality stocks are looking good. Open Interest (OI) data is shifting on upside. Put writing is strong and forming the base. Expect market to consolidate. Bias remains bullish, risk defined strategies remains best".

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory while Seoul quoted in the green.

The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.87% to USD 91.58 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 263.68 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 261.16 points or 0.39% to settle at 66,428.09 on Tuesday. The Nifty gained 79.75 points or 0.40% to 19,811.50.