Indian stock markets opened on a flat note following overnight losses in the US and mixed indications from the Asian markets.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex opened at 9,241.56, up 39.71 points.
Metal stocks saw buying action, while realty and auto stocks declined.

At 10.04 a.m., the 30-share index Sensex was up 43.57 points at
9,245.42 after hitting a high of 9,245.42 and a low of 9,241.56. In the
meantime, Nifty gained 0.35 points at 2,803.40, after touching a high
of 2,816.80 and a low of 2,800.00. (10.04 a.m.)

The market breadth was positive as it saw 330 advancements as against 225 declinations.

Among the Sensex scrips, Tata Steel is the biggest gainer. It has
advanced 1.87 per cent. Hindalco, Reliance Energy, Sterlite Industries
(India) and ICICI Bank were the other main gainers in the pack.

On the other hand, the major losers in the Sensex were Tata Motors
(4.66%), DLF (2.33%), Hindustan Unilever (1.03%), Maruti Suzuki India
(0.91%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (0.83%), and Bharat Heavy
Electricals (0.80%).

The BSE midcap index was up 0.10%, while the BSE smallcap index was 0.09 percent higher than its previous close.

Traders would look forward to inflationary data scheduled to be released today.

Asian stocks were trading mixed early today. Lowered earnings
forecast in Japan and share sales in Australia fueled worries that the
worldwide recession is growing.

For the third time this calendar year, the Dow Jones closed below
the 8k mark as worries continued to swirl around Bank of America’s
nationalization. Moreover, weak results from Walt Disney and Kraft
Foods and a sell off in the banking region added to concerns about the
impact of the recession.

The Dow Jones shed 121 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index
lost 6 points, whereas the Nasdaq was a tad lower dipping by a solitary
point.

Straits Times gained 0.7% at 1,718. While, Australia’s S&P/ASX
was flat at 3,433. The Taiwan Taiex index fell marginally by 0.2% to
4,389.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell slightly by 0.3% to 82.92 as of 10:35 a.m. in Tokyo.

New Zealand’s jobless rate surged to a 5-year high during the fourth
quarter (Q4). The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% from 4.2% in the
previous quarter.