Shares of Tata Motors plunged after the company said that the EBITDA is likely to be in the region of levels reported for the previous two quarters and could be lower than last two quarters.

Among the early Nifty gainers were Infosys, Coal India, Reliance, ITC, Gail and Hindalco.

Bharti Airtel which rallied sharply on Wednesday following a hike in voice tariffs saw selling pressure and was trading flat in early trade.

Hindustan Unilever which tanked 5 per cent following its results was trading steady. Larsen and Toubro which is expected to announce its results later today was trading lower.

Reliance Communications Ltd fell after the company reported a bigger-than-expected 44 per cent drop in quarterly profit.

HDIL shares dropped further after a severe drubbing on Wednesday with reports that the company's promoter had sold a stake in the company. The shares fell by another 1 per cent and were trading at Rs 94.

Ashok Leyland was trading lower by 1 per cent ahead of its results. Banking stocks particularly the PSU stocks came in for more selling pressure today with Oriental Bank, Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India among the losers.

Metal stocks were trading flat with Hindalco, Tata Steel and JSW Steel hardly moving in early trade. Pharma stocks were also subdued with only Divis Laboratories, Glaxo and Piramal among the gainers.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading mixed with the Japanese Nikkei up, while the Hong Kong's Hang Sang and Singapore's Strait Times were trading lower.

Markets are expected to trade in a tight range and may seek direction after the RBI announces its credit policy on January 29.

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