The key equity barometers traded flat in early trade. Nifty opened at 24472 and hit a high of 24473 in first half hour of trade. Nifty 50, Nifty Auto and Nifty Bank shares advanced. At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, up 56.12 points to 78,022.47. The Nifty 50 index down 0 points to 24,435.95. The broader market failed to keep pace with frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.23% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index inched up 0.21%. The market breadth was favorable. On the BSE, 2154 shares gained and 1871 shares fell. A total of 211 shares were unchanged. Nifty 50 index remained flat. The index has edged up 0.93% in last one month and lost 0.21% over last one year. Tata Motors PVeh, inching higher 2.18%, led the losers followed by Eternal, gaining 1.84% and Tech Mahindra, adding 1.61%, respectively. Out of 50 index constituents, 0 are reporting loss today. Nifty Auto index remained flat. The index has risen 8.83% in last one month and recorded robust gains of 23.08% over last one year. Tata Motors PVeh, up 2.18%, led the losers followed by Ashok Leyland, edging up 1.82% and Bosch, inching higher 1.23%, respectively. Out of 15 index constituents, 0 are reporting loss today. Nifty Bank index remained flat. The index has edged lower 0.42% in last one month and moved higher by 5.16% over last one year. IDFC First Bank, up 0.89%, led the losers followed by IndusInd Bank, gaining 0.82% and Yes Bank, gaining 0.57%, respectively. Out of 14 index constituents, 0 are reporting loss today. In NIFTY500, Sarda Energy is the top gainer today, posting strong gains of 8.06% to Rs 528.95. The counter is lower by 11.27% in last one year. It recorded an average volume quantity of 40452.50 in last five sessions compared to 27270.09 over last one month. Asian markets edged higher on Thursday. China’s Shanghai composite is down 0.39%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is slightly lower by 0.25%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is ahead by 1.16%.