The Sensex is quoting at 17085, higher by 62 points and the Nifty is at 5130, up 20 points.
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(Updated at 1219pm)
The markets have been trading in a narrow range since opening bell. The Sensex has swung in a narrow range of less than 100 points between a low of 16963 and a high of 17051 and is currently quoting at 17011, lower by 10 points. Ditto for the Nifty, which touched a low of 5091 and a high of 5112 and is currently placed at 5105, down five points. The midcap index has added six points at 6882 and the smallcap index has gained 21 points at 8649.
FMCG remains the top sectoral gainer on the BSE. Hindustan Unilever continues to hog the limelight on the back of plans to buy back its shares. The FMCG major is up 1.9% at Rs 252. And the sentiment has rubbed onto other players in the segment. ITC has gained 1.7% at Rs 289, Dabur has added 2.1% at Rs 190 and Colgate Palmolive is up 1.5% at Rs 816. And the banking space follows suit; ICICI Bank has strengthened by 1.1% at Rs 862 and SBI has added 0.7% at Rs 2302.
Metals are seeing profit-booking as metal prices declined on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday. Sesa Goa has weakened by 2.6% at Rs 371, Sail has shed 0.9% at Rs 200 and Tata Steel has lost 0.5% at Rs 483. Realty stocks are also succumbing to selling pessure; Indiabulls Real Estate has slid by 2% at Rs 156, HDIL has shed 0.8% at Rs 228 and Unitech has lost 0.7% at Rs 71.
The market breadth is marginally positive, though. Out of 2729 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1319 advancing stocks as against 1293 declines.