Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities gave up most of its morning gains and was ruling on a flat note a little after noon Friday.

At 12.33 p.m. the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,988.29 points, was ruling flat at 16,967.92 points, 3.78 points or 0.02 percent lower than its previous close at 16,971.7 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,082.7 points against the previous close at 5,080.25 points, a loss of 0.05 percent.

Broader markets still saw some buying with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.43 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 0.8 percent up.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,676 stocks advancing, compared to 1,032 scrips on the decline, while 101 remained unchanged.

Most other Asian markets, were however, ruling in the green.

The benchmark Japanese index, Nikkei, ended 2.2 percent higher at 10,368.96 points, while the South Korean Kospi moved up 1.01 percent at 1,634.57 points.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was ruling in the green too at 20,717.1 points, up 0.69 percent, while the Chinese Shanghai composite index gained 0.25 percent at 3,031.06 points.