Markets begin May series on a flat note

Markets ended flat on the first day of the May series. The Sensex ended at 17,134 - up just three points. Nifty ended flat at 5,191.

Markets gave off morning gains after bourses in Europe opened on a weak note but stabilised thereafter.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average ended lower in choppy trade and closed out its worst April since 2005 on Friday, after the Bank of Japan's move to boost its bond buying failed to ignite lasting confidence among investors over the fragile economy.

The Nikkei shed 0.4% to 9,521.

Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite also dipped 0.3% each. In Europe, CAC and DAX were trading on a flat note.

BSE PSU index slipped nearly 1% to 7,099. FMCG, metal and realty stocks also witnessed selling pressure with the indices slipping around 0.8% each.

However, BSE IT index gained 1.2% to 5,568.

ICICI Bank surged 2.3% to Rs 861 following its quarterly results.

The bank reported better-than-expected 31% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in net profit at Rs 1,902 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12, due to higher operational and other income.

Analysts on average expected the private sector lender to report a profit of Rs 1,743 crore against Rs 1,452 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

However, other banking major - SBI dipped 1.5% lower in trades. Coal India shed 2.2% to Rs 351.

DLF was down marginally at Rs 181.

Dr Reddy's is all set to replace DLF on the Sensex from June 11,2012.

Meanwhile, HSBC has maintained "overweight" rating on Indian stocks, but says country now behind China and Taiwan in its preferences.

HSBC says valuations still remain supportive at 13.5 times forward earnings, and maintains its year-end target of 19,300 for Sensex (vs 17,130.67 close on Thursday).

Metals shares were in the red. Tata STeel, Jindal Steel and Sterlite were down around 1% each. Other losers included Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and ITC.

"ITC has been inching continuously in April series,The stock is expected to witness some amount of profit booking but is unlikely to fall sharply," says Shailesh Kadam, AVP, Institutional Derivatives, PINC.

Market heavyweight, Reliance, slipped 0.5% at Rs 742. RIL has reported natural gas production from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields dropping to less than 34 million standard cubic meters a day.

Meanwhile, Hindalco, Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys gained around 1-2% each. Gail advanced 1.5% to Rs 329 after touching its 52-week low on Thursday.

The company has resumed cargo operations at the nation's third liquefied natural gas terminal at Dabhol after it repaired fenders at the port that were damaged by rough sea.

Asian Paints was trading higher by 1% on inclusion in Nifty, in place of Reliance Power Nifty with effect from today.

However, Bank of Baroda which would be replacing Reliance Communications dipped 0.7% to Rs 761.

Biocon Limited moved higher by 4% to Rs 239 after reporting better-than-expected net profit of Rs 98 crore for the quarter ended March 2012, against Rs 100 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

Analyst expected a net profit of Rs 83 crore from the biotechnology company.

However, net sales grew 30% at Rs 610 crore on year-on-year basis.

BSE market breadth was neutral.

Out of 2,895 stocks traded, 1,113 shares declined while 1,019 shares advanced.