Mumbai, Dec 29 (IANS) A key Indian equities index was trading flat about an hour before noon Tuesday and was about 43 points higher. Medium and small scrips saw more gains.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,388.67 points and at 10.57 a.m. was at 17,406.23 points, up 45.62 points or 0.26 percent from its previous close at 17,360.61 points.

Around the same time, at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was at 5,192.85 points, against the previous close at 5,178.4 points, a gain of 0.28 percent.

Broader market indices were doing better, with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.77 percent up and the BSE small cap index 1.2 percent higher.

The market breadth was tilted towards the positive, with 1,674 scrips advancing, 635 declining and 74 remaining unchanged.

Among major gainers at this time were Reliance Infra, up 3.01 percent at Rs.1,133.25; NTPC, up 1.91 percent at Rs.234.30; ICICI Bank, up 1.46 percent at Rs.875.30, and Hero Honda, up 1.39 percent at Rs.1,758.65.

Among the losers were ONGC, down 0.99 percent at Rs.1,185.80; HDFC Bank, down 0.98 percent at Rs.1,694.80; Sun Pharma, down 0.83 percent at Rs.1,550.70, and TCS, down 0.48 percent at Rs.745.10.

Other Asian markets were also flat.

A key Japanese index, the Nikkei, was ruling 0.08 percent or 8.6 points up at 10,642.83 points with many stocks losing strength after the recent rally.

In China, the Shanghai composite index was ruling 0.42 percent lower at 3,175.30 points.

The Kospi, the benchmark index of the Korean Stock Exchange, was down 1.21 percent at 1,665.12 points.

The Hang Seng, a benchmark index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was ruling lower at 21,467.23 points, 0.06 percent lower.