Markets open steady; IT shares rally

Indian markets were subdued in early trade, though software stocks like Infosys, TCS and Wipro rallied. The Sensex was trading higher by 2 points, while the Nifty was trading virtually unchanged at 5572 points.

Software stocks led gains today after a sharp depreciation in the rupee, led to buying interest in these counters.

Nifty stocks that lost ground in early trade were NTPC, DLF, Bharti Airtel and BHEL. Banking stocks were trading mixed with ICICI Bank gaining, while HDFC Bank and Punjab National Bank lost ground. Other PSU banks like IOB, Oriental bank, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank also drifted lower.

Metal stocks too were subdued with Tata Steel, Hindalco and Sesa Goa little unchanged over Tuesday's levels.

Among the early gainers from the non index stocks were Piramal Lifesciences, after reports that the Promoter will up stake in Piramal Life Sciences by 33.08 percent to 54.66 percent.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading lower with the Korean Kospi, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted and the Chinese Shanghai Composite all drifting lower.

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