Lacklustre trades continue

Metal and realty shares gain

Markets continued to trade on a flat note this afternoon with gains in realty and metal stocks offsetting the selling pressure visible in banks. The BSE Sensex is down 27 points at 19,313. Nifty is down 3 points at 5,876.

India's manufacturing sector beat the expectations of economists to grow at its fastest pace in five months in November, boosted by strong export orders and a surge in output, a business survey showed on Monday.

Meanwhile in Asia, Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite shed 1% each. Nikkei ended flat at 9458. A closely watched indicator of Chinese manufacturing activity confirmed a swing back to expansion in November but the data proved insufficient to dispel worries over next year’s outlook.

BSE realty index has added 1.5% to 2,029. Metal and capital goods indices are up 0.5-1% each. However, BSE consumer durables index has slipped 0.7% to 7,976. Bankex and FMCG are also showing some weakness.

BHEL has jumped 2% to Rs 238. Tata Steel and Jindal Steel from the metal pack have added 1.8% each. Auto shares are up 1-2% each. Reliance is up 1% at Rs 802.

On the other hand, HDFC bank has slipped 2% to Rs 690. Bharti Airtel is down 1.2% followed by HDFC, NTPC and ITC.

Shares of rating agencies, ICRA and Crisil are trading higher by over 4% each on back of heavy volumes ahead of the initial public offer of Credit Analysis and Research Ltd (CARE), which opens on Friday.

PVR has surged 11% to Rs 334, extending its previous two-day’s rally after the company announced buyout of Cinemax India’s promoters’ entire 69.27% stake for Rs 395 crore.

BSE market breadth is positive. Out of 2806 stocks traded, 1588 shares advanced while 1101 shares delcined.