Benchmark indices were trading flat on Monday ahead of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers which are due on Wednesday. BSE Sensex was 4.77 points lower at 20,371.79 points, while NSE Nifty was down 2.25 points at 6,060.95 points.
Experts expect markets to remain volatile in the short-term. ?There are no reasons for markets to go higher or lower. Emerging markets are still not out of the woods,? said Andrew Holland, CEO, Ambit Investment Advisors.
Among sectoral indices, BSE Realty (1.55%), BSE Capital Goods (0.60%) and BSE Oil & Gas (0.54%) were the major gainers, while BSE IT (-0.31%), BSE FMCG (-0.30%) and BSE Metal (-0.26%) were trading in the red.
Among individual stocks, Dr Reddys Laboratories (1.93%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (1.78%) and Tata Motors (1.41%) were the major gainers on the BSE Sensex. Tata Motors would be announcing its Q3 results on Monday.
Among key Asian indices, Shanghai Composite (1.96%), Jakarta Composite (0.35%) and Kospi (0.04%) were trading in the green. Straits Times (-0.13%) and Hang Seng (-0.10%) were trading in the red.
On Friday, Dow Jones Industrial Average (1.06%) and Nasdaq Composite (1.69%) closed higher.