Markets trade sideways, Sensex down 15pts

The markets changed lanes from the negative to the positive and back to the negative, in the run up to the late morning trades. The BSE Sensex is at 16,142, down 14 points and the S&P CNX is at 4,830, down 16 points. The Sensex had opened at 16,156 and slipped to a low of 16,058, thereafter, recovered and jumped to a high of 16,237.

The BSE mid-cap index is at 6,130, up 0.1% and the small-cap index is at 7,030, up 0.4%.

The Asian market are trading on a weak note. The Hang Seng index is at 19,202, down 1%, the Shanghai Composite index is at 2,525, down 0.4% and the Nikkei has shed 0.8% at 8,654.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE Bankex is the major laggard at 10,672, down 0.9%. The prominent losers include Union Bank of India, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Yes Bank and Bank of Baroda, down 2-4% each.

BSE IT is down 0.8% at 4,701. Oracle Financial Services Software, HCL Technologies, TCS, Infosys and Wipro, down 1-2%, are the top losers among the pack.

The BSE Realty index, which, had surged over 1% in early trades, has now reversed gains, and is down nearly 1% at 1,660. DLF is the major dragger, down nearly 3% at Rs 182. Unitech, Sunteck Realty and Oberoi Realty are the other major losers. Peninsula Land, Anant Raj Industries and Sobha Developers, however, continue to hold gains.

JP Associates has moved up 3% at Rs 61 and is the major gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks. It is followed by Jindal Steel, BHEL, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp, up 1-2% each.

Sun Pharma, DLF, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco and Cipla are the major losers among the pack, down 1-3% each.

The overall market breadth is positive as 1,234 stocks have advanced against 1,041 declining ones on the BSE.