Markets end flat

Sensex has ended (provisional) at 18,588 - down eight points. Nifty ends at 5,586.
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(Updated at 1513 hrs)

Sensex has erased its gains and is now down 20 points at 18,580. Nifty is flat at 5,586.
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(Updated at 1435 hrs)

The markets have extended gains on the back of buying in rate-sensitie stocks. The Sensex after touching a low of 18,449, has rallied 333 points to a high of 18,782. The index is now up 171 points at 18,767. The markets have shrugged off a slightly disappointing inflation data. The NSE Nifty has added 60 points to 5,645.

Asian markets ended on a mixed note today. Nikkei slipped 0.3% on fears that Moody's can cut the United States' triple-A credit rating. The $ touched multi-month lows. Hang Seng ended flat while Shanghai Composite edged up 0.5%. Italy's debt worries have taken major markets in the Europe down 0.5% each.

Meanwhile, the government came out with June inflation figures. Inflation for the month stood at 9.44% compared to 9.06% in April and WPI primary articles index was at 2.8% on a month-on-month basis. The interest rates sensitive sectors seemed to have discounted the spike in inflation numbers.

In other news, the terror attacks in Mumbai were not attacks on India's financial markets, Home Minister Chidambaram said today. In Wednesday's serial blasts across the city, at least 21 people have been confirmed dead and 141 injured.

The recovery in the Sensex was led by banking names with ICICI Bank contributing around 35 points to index's upmove. HDFC Bank and SBI were up around 1.5% each.

DLF is the big mover in the realty space - up over 4%. Metal names like Jindal Steel, Hindalco as well as auto stocks - Tata Motors and Maruti have contributed to the rally. Market heavyweight, Relaince, is up 1%.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto has dropped 1.6% at Rs 1,425 after posting its Q1 numbers. The two-wheeler maker has reported 21% growth in net profit at Rs 711 crore for Q1FY12. The company had a net profit of Rs 590 crore in the June quarter of the previous fiscal.

IT major TCS is down marginally ahead of its quarterly numbers to be announced today. Infosys has not recovered post results and is down 1.2% at Rs 2,750.

"The overall trend for Infosys has been weak. However, we expect support at Rs 2680/2700 levels. On the higher side, it will face a lot of resistance between Rs 2880/2900 levels," said Rajesh Jain, EVP & Head - Retail Research, Religare Securities.