Stock markets drift on a flat note, Sensex above 39,000 mark

Equity benchmark indices opened on a flat note on Thursday with most sectoral indices showing mixed results.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up 46 points at 39,101 while the NSE Nifty gained 27 points to 11,753.

At the National Stock Exchange, some sectoral indices like FMCG, financial services, pharma and realty were in the green.

But auto, IT, metal and PSU banks were in the negative zone during early hours of trading. Among stocks, Yes Bank, Grasim, Ultra Cement, Bharat Petroleum and Power Grid gained some ground.

However, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, ONGC and Bharti Infratel dropped.

Meanwhile, Asian shares slipped after a surprise slide in German and South Korean economic data rekindled fears of slowing global growth.

Investors were also cautious after the United States told countries buying Iranian oil to stop purchases by May 1 or face economic sanctions.

That has pushed Brent crude futures above 74.50 dollars per barrel.