Markets firmed up in the last leg of trade due to short covering on account of futures and options expiry. The Nifty index was up 55 points, at 5,657 and the Sensex advanced 175 points, at 18,872.
-----------------------Updated at 14:30 hrs
Markets may end a choppy session of trade marginally higher as investors rolled over positions from June to July series.
The Nifty index touched a high of 5,637 in the morning session following firm global cues but succumbed to profit booking on account of futures and options expiry. The index touched a low of 5,607 and moved sideways as buying momentum decreased because investors were unconvinced if the gains made in the past week would be sustained. The S&P CNX Nifty was trading at 5,617, up 20 points and the Sensex was trading at 18,760, up 63 points at 14:30 hours.
From the sectoral space, consumer durable stocks were leading the gains. The BSE Consumer Durables index was up 2%. Titan industries advanced 2.9%, Videocon Industries was up 2.6% and Rajesh Exports gained 2.1%.
BSE Healthcare shares were leading the losses; the index was down 0.4%. Aurobindo Pharma slipped 1.6%, Ranbaxy Laboratories was off 1.6% and Dr. Reddy’s declined 1.5%.
The broader markets were also trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index added 0.3% and the small-cap index was up 0.5%.
The overall breadth was marginally positive as 1436 stocks advanced while 1327 stocks declined.
