Markets rangebound

Markets traded in a narrow range in the last hour of trade stocks. The Sensex traded in the range of 127 points, the index touched the high of 18,354.

The Sensex was at 18,304 lower by 54 points and the S&P CNX Nifty had shed 22 points to 5489.

The Asian markets recovered partially, the Nikkei which had shed 2.2% was now lower by 0.6% to 9032, the Hang Seng lost 1.5% or 344 points to 22,356. Taiwan and Shanghai also recovered marginally.

Back home, Maruti Suzuki continued to remain the top loser on the Sensex, the stock was trading lower by 2.5% to Rs 1192, it was followed by HDFC, Infosys, TCS, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, ITC, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were also among the losers. On the other hand Reliance Communications, HDFC Bank, BHEL, State Bank of India, Cipla, J P Associates, ONGC and Sterlite were among the gainers.

Technology stocks continued to reel under the selling pressure, the BSE IT index slipped 1% or 67 points to 6107. FMCG, Metal, healthcare and oil & gas indices also witnessed a mild selling pressure. Meanwhile the BSE Capital Goods index was the top sectoral gainer, the index zoomed 0.7% to 12,592. Consumer Durables index jumped 0.6% to 5894. BSE Banking index comtinued to trade on a flat note ahead of the RBI policy review, the index added 37 points to 12,475. Other rate sensitives like auto and realty indices were marginally in the red, lower by around 0.3% each.

TCS was the top loser among the IT stocks, the stock slipped 1.4% to Rs 1100 followed by Inosys, Mphasis, HCL Technologies, Patni Computers and Financial Technologies.

Among the capital goods stocks Havells India was the top gainer followed by Crompton Greaves, BHEL, BGR Energy, Praj Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Alstom Projects.

The broader markets continued to trade on a flat note, the BSE mid-cap index added 6 points to 6563 while the small-cap index was higher by 20 points to 7910.