Equities flat in early trade amid mixed global cues

Equity benchmark indices traded with thin gains during early hours on Thursday amid mixed global cues ahead of the weekly options expiry.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 141 points or 0.3 per cent at 46,808 while the Nifty 50 ticked higher by 41 points or 0.3 per cent at 13,724.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty pharma advancing by 1.1 per cent, financial service by 0.6 per cent and PSU bank by 0.3 per cent. But Nifty FMCG, IT, metal and realty were in the red.

Among stocks, HDFC gained by 1.9 per cent to Rs 2,472.70 per share. Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and Dr Reddy's too traded with a positive bias.

However, those which lost were Hindustan Lever, ITC, Bajaj Auto, HCL Technologies and NTPC.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks perched near-record heights as monetary support and the hope of fiscal stimulus in the United States put traders in a cheerful mood.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.3 per cent to touch an all-time high. Japan's Nikkei rose by 0.2 per cent.

( With inputs from ANI )