Choppy Sensex, Nifty flat; Axis Bank down 2% post Q1 nos

Indian equity benchmarks were completely lacklustre in trade as ITC, Bharti, ICICI Bank and SBI were supporting the market whereas TCS, ONGC and auto stocks were under pressure. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries too was quite volatile in trade today after sources said the company warned government saying gas output at KG-D6 may stop by 2015.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 28 points to 17,131.03 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained just 4 points at 5,201. The Indian rupee was quite volatile today, appreciating by 33 paise to 54.96 against the US dollar.

Country's largest software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services tanked more than 2% while its rival Wipro gained over 1%.

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto plunged nearly 3% ahead of first quarter numbers tomorrow. Commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors and utility vehicle maker M&M were down 0.5-1% whereas Hero Motocorp and Maruti were flat.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC and power equipment manufacturer BHEL declined 0.5%-0.8%.

Among metals stocks, Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel fell over 0.6% whereas Jindal Steel and Hindalco gained 0.5-1%.