Indian markets were trading flat in line with markets around the globe ahead of the crucial US non farm payroll data which might determine the Fed course of action on its asset purchase programme.

The Sensex was trading marginally lower by 19 points, while the Nifty edged lower by 23 points in early trade.

Banking stocks which were on fire after new Governor Raghuram Rajan announced a slew of measures were subdued in trade with the exception of ICICI Bank which rallied another 2 per cent. However, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, State Bank and Yes Bank gave up gains and were trading lower.

HDFC Bank was the top loser from the banking space dropping more then 2 per cent. Top Nifty gainers apart from ICICI Bank were Asian Paints, Dr Reddy's, ONGC, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma.

Technology stocks that lost ground in trade on Thursday were trading higher. Notable gainers were Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. Heavyweight, ITC also saw buying interest and gained almost 1 per cent in early trade.

Sesa Goa continued to drop for a second day in a row and was down more than 5 per cent. Other notabe losers were BPCL, Coal India, Bhel and Bank of Baroda.

Metal stocks were trading weak with Hindalco and Tata Steel both dropping.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were mostly trading flat ahead of the US non farm payroll data.

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