Markets end marginally higher

Markets ended Tuesday's volatile trading session with marginally gains. The Sensex provisionally ended higher by 20 points at 17,242 levels  and the Nifty advanced 6 points to close at 5,241 levels. The stock market traded in a very narrow range in trades today.
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(Updated at 1430 hours)

Markets continue to trade on a listless note in the late noon deals. The Sensex has advanced 7 points to 17,227 and the 50-share Nifty is up 3 points at 5,237 levels.

Meanwhile, the European markets have opened lower in trades today. CAC is down 35 points at 3,284, DAX has shed 50 points at 6,725 levels and the FTSE is trading lower by 45 points at 5,678 levels.
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(Updated at 1300 hours)

Markets are trading on a subdued note in the noon deals. The Sensex has shed 70 points to 17,152 levels and the Nifty is down 16 points at 5,218.

According to Ranak Merchant, Technical Analyst- Strategies with Sushil Financial Services, "Markets are currently trading in the support zone of 5,245-5,170. The result season and the RBI policy would be the key determinants of the direction of the markets going forward. On the upside 5,341 is a key resistance that needs to be taken out for upward momentum to resume."

The Asian markets were also trading on a subdued note. The Hang Seng was down 217 points at 20,376, Nikkei shed 8 points to 9,538. Shanghai recovered from the intra-day low levels and was trading higher by 20 points at 2,305 levels.

Back home, IT stocks are witnessing a heavy selling pressure in the noon deals. The BSE IT index is the top sectoral loser, down 1.4% or 84 points to 5,953 levels. Infosys is the top loser from this space, down nearly 3% to Rs 2,822. Mphasis, HCL Technologies, Hexaware, Financial Technologies and TCS are also among the losers from this space.

Metal stocks are also witnessing selling in the noon deals. The BSE Metal index has lost 1.2% or 136 points to 10,628 levels. Teck, consumer durables, capital goods, PSU, oil & gas, banking and realty stocks are also facing the heat of a mild selling pressure.

At the same time, FMCG index is near its lifetime high on hopes of good Q4 numbers. The index is the top sectoral gainer, up 65 points at 6,541 levels. Prominent stocks such as Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, ITC and Dabur India are trading higher by 1-4% in otherwise weak market in afternoon trades. Auto and healthcare pockets are witnessing some amount of buying.

Gail India is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 3% to Rs 352. Tata Steel, BHEL, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries and Coal India are also among the laggards.

On the other hand, Tata Power, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Tata Motors, SBI, Bajaj Auto and HDFC are also among the notable gainers.

Cairn India has moved higher by 3% at Rs 350 after the company announced an oil discovery in the Nagayalanka-SE-1 well in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin

The overall breadth has turned negative as 1,406 stocks are declining while 1,086 are advancing.