Markets had a quiet session in the past one hour of trade. The Sensex was at 18,761, up 67 points and the Nifty was at 5616, higher by 15 points.
Meanwhile, the European markets have opened higher. The FTSE opened at 5892, up 36 points, CAC 40 index advanced 11 points to open at 3935 and the DAX was higher by 18 points at 7312.
Back home, most of the sectoral indices continued to trade on a flat note. BSE consumer durables index was the top sectoral gainer, the index jumped 1.6% or 102 points at 6678. FMCG index was up 1% at 4014. Realty index has gained 0.8% at 2012. Bankex, metal and oil & gas, indices were higher by 0.3-0.5% each. Healthcare, technology, capital goods and power indices continued to reel under a mild selling pressure.
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(Updated at 12.35 PM)
Markets continued to trade on a subdued note in the noon deals ahead of the F&O expiry later today. The Sensex was at 18,758, up 65 points and the Nifty gained 13 points at 5613 levels.
According to Ashish Chaturmohta of IIFL Wealth, "Nifty is currently trading at a crucial level of 5620 levels, if it sustains above this level supported by volumes we may see it heading northwards to 5680-5700 levels whereas 5550 would hold as an important support for the market."
Meanwhile, on the macro economic front the WPI Inflation for the week ended June 18 eased to 11.8% compared to 12.62% during the previous week. The food article inflation was recorded at 7.8%.
Back to markets, J P Associates was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, the stock surged 3.5% to Rs 81. Hindustan Unilever advanced 2.11% to Rs 339. State Bak of India, Jindal Steel, Hero Honda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Reliance Infrastructure and NTPC were also trading higher by 0.8-1.5% each. On the other hand Bharti Airtel, Cipla, ONGC, Tata Motors, Wipro, Tata Power and BHEL were among the losers.
Most of the sectoral indices were trading on a flat note. BSE consumer durables index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices. The index advanced 1.85% or 122 points to 6697. FMCG stocks continued to gain in the trades so far, the FMCG index advanced 1% or 40 points to 4012. Realty, bankex, metal, oil & gas and capital goods indices added 0.2-0.7% each. At the same time healthcare, technology, power and auto stocks witnessed a mild selling pressure.
Titan Industries, Videocon Industries, VIP Industries, Whirlpool and Gitanjali Gems were the top gainers among the consumer durable stocks.
The fertilizer stocks were trading higher ahead of government meeting today to consider giving fertiliser companies freedom to fix the maximum retail price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP). Among the individual stocks, RCF, National Fertilisers, Chambal Fertilisers, GNFC and Nagarjuna Fertiliser are trading higher by 2-5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The broader markets were also trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index added 0.24% at 6848 and the small-cap index was up 0.44% at 8145.
The overall breadth was marginally positive as 1398 stocks advanced while 1149 stocks declined.
