Markets trim gains, rail shares subdued

Markets are trading on a flat note erasing most of the intra-day gains in the middle of ongoing Railway Budget speech being presented in the Parliament.

The Sensex is up 70 points at 17,884 and the Nifty is up 24 points at 5,454 levels. Earlier in the day, the markets opened higher tracking global cues and the Sensex touched the high of 18,040 levels in the intra-day deals.

"The short-and medium-term bais remains positive and the Nifty is expected to target 5,650 and 5,950 levels. The key support is around 5,350 - 5,170 levels, while it can face resistance around 5,500 - 5,660 levels," said Somil Mehta, Senior Technical Analyst (Equity), Sharekhan.

Most of the railway related stocks such as Titagarh Wagons, Kalindee Rail, Bharat Earth Movers Limited and Stone India are trading lower by 3-5% each. On the other hand, Kernex Miocrosystems is the only gainer among the railway related stocks which is trading higher.

Realty, IT and oil & gas stocks are facing the selling pressure. The BSE Realty index is the top sectoral loser, down 1% or 20 points at 1,868 levels. IT and Oil & Gas indices have also shed 0.4-0.8% each.

On the other hand, Capital Goods index continues to remain the top sectoral gainer, up 1.4% at 10,752 levels. Bankex, Healthcare, Auto, FMCG, Power and PSU indices are also trading higher by 0.5-1% each.

Among the Sensex stocks, Larsen & Toubro is the top gainer, up 2.4% at Rs 1,393. Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Tata Power and NTPC are also trading higher by 1.3-2.3% each. While, TCS, Wipro, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel are among the prominent laggards.

The broader markets are trading on a listless note. The BSE mid-cap index is flat at 6,477 levels and the small-cap index has shed 15 points at 6,851 levels.

The overall breadth is neutral as 1,295 stocks are advancing while 1,378 are declining.