Markets lacklustre, Power stocks weigh

Markets traded in a lacklustre fashion in the mid-morning deals on back of selling pressure visible in the power, technology, healthcare, auto and capital goods stocks. The Sensex was at 18,666, up 13 points and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5,614, higher by a point

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher. Taiwan advanced 173 points or 2% to 8,698. Nikkei gained 1% or 105 points to 9,995. Meanwhile, Hang Seng was trading on a flat note, up 22 points at 21,924 and  Shanghai Composite  index was lower by 8 points at 2,788.

Back home, DLF was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. It added 1.5% to Rs 243. ITC gained 1% to Rs 206. Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure, ONGC, Jindal Steel, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries were also among the gainers. On the other hand Wipro continued to remain the top loser, the stock had shed nearly 3% to Rs 403 on back of weaker than expected Q1 results posted by the company.  Hindalco, Hero Honda, J P Associates, TCS, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Power, State Bank of India, BHEL, Cipla and Bajaj Auto declined by 0.5-1.7% each in trades so far.

On the sectoral front BSE Power index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.8% or 21 points at 2,581. BSE IT index shed 0.7% or 41 points to 5,863 levels. Capital goods, healthcare, auto, metal, consumer durables and banking stocks also reeled under a mild selling pressure. At the same time FMCG stocks some bit of buying. The index rose 0.7% or 28 points to 4,101. BSE Realty index was also in the green, up 0.2% at 2,236.

Crompton Greaves was the top loser among the power stocks. The stock slipped 12% to Rs 182 after the company reported 58% drop in Q1 net profit. ABB, Torrent Power, BHEL, NTPC, Adani Power, Tata Power and Lanco Infra were also among the losers.

The broader markets were trading on a mixed note. The BSE mid-cap index was down 2 points at 7,048 while the small-cap index advanced 43 points to 8,505 points.

The overall breadth was positive as 1,422 stocks were advancing while 1,089 stocks were declining.