Lacklustre trade continues

The markets continue to trade sideways after hitting a low of 18,513 in the morning trades due to the weakness in rate sensitives like Auto and Realty space. Currently, the BSE benchmark index is down 76 points at 18,541 while the Nifty lost 26 points at 5,572.

In the broader markets, the smallcap index continues to hold its gains, up 0.1% while the midcap slipped 0.1% as compared to the Sensex underperforming at 0.2%.

In the sectoral indices, Metal, Auto and Reatly continues to slide and is down 0.7% each. On the other hand, IT index is up 0.3% followed by Oil & Gas gaining 0.1% are the only indices in the positive territory.

TCS up 2% continues to be the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. Index heavyweight, Reliance Industries,NTPC, Wipro and SBI gaining 0.2-0.5% are the other notable gainers.

Among the losers are Tata Motors and Sterlite down 2% each followed by Cipla,Hero Honda, HDFC, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Communications and ONGC down 1% each.

The market breadth is negative. 1415 stocks declined while 1251 advanced.