Markets marginally up in noon trade

Markets were marginally up in noon trade, albeit near the day's low. The Sensex, after touching a high of 17,236 on strong cues from Asian peers, has pared some of its gains and is now up 51 points at 17,154. The Nifty is up just 10 points at 5,207.
 
Meanwhile, the rupee gained 43 paise to trade at 54.88 against the dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange as the American currency weakened against euro and other currencies overseas.
 
On the global front, Asian shares surged and the euro recovered on Tuesday as investors covered short positions and hunted for bargains while awaiting U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's view on the U.S. economy expected later in the day. Nikkei, Strait Times, Hang Seng, Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai have gained between 0.3-2%.
 
BSE healthcare index surged1.2% to 7,078. FMCG, bankex and metal indices are up marginally in trades. However, weakness can be seen in IT shares and auto stocks, as both the indices have slipped half a per cent each.
 
Bharti Airtel has gained 2.5% at Rs 327. Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma from the pharma pack have added 2% each in trades. ITC is the biggest mover and is up 0.8% at Rs 254.
 
" Pharma has seen renewed interest post Index failure of sustaining 5300 levels. Biocon would find resistance near 264," said Ranak Merchant, Technical Analyst - Strategies, Sushil Financial Services.
 
On the other hand, Bajaj Auto  has dropped 2.8%, followed by TCS, Sterlite and BHEL.
 
BSE market breadth turned negative. Out of 2641 shares traded, 1,470 shares declined while 1020 shares advanced in trades.