Markets off day's high

The markets corrected a bit in the noon deals owing to the weak opening of European markets and selling pressure in IT stocks. The Sensex was at 16,782, up 105 points and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5,026, up 25 points.

The Sensex had touched a high of 16,989 earlier in the day.

The European markets opened in the red. DAX opened at 5,630, lower by 100 points or 1.75%, CAC 40 index shed nearly 2% or 61 points to 3,204 and the FTSE was at 5,370, lower by 48 points.

Back home, Sterlite Industries was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. The stock has gained 4.4% to Rs 134. Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 3.3% to Rs 762 after the company announced plans to launch a new SUV named XUV500 by the year end. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries also added nearly 3% to Rs 803. Tata Steel, DLF, Jindal Steel, Sun Pharma, Hindalco, Coal India and ICICI Bank were also among the gainers, up 2-2.6% each.

On the other hand, Tata Power, Maruti Suzuki, TCS, BHEL, Infosys, HDFC and NTPC were the losers on the benchmark index.

Buying was visible across the sectors barring a few. BSE Metal index was the top sectoral gainer, up 2% or 252 points to 12,349. Oil & Gas index jumped 2% to 8,515. Auto, Realty, FMCG, Healthcare and Bankex indices also traded higher by 0.5-1.5% each.

At the same time, there was selling pressure in technology and power stocks. The BSE IT index shed 1.2% to 5,002 and the power index was down nearly 1% to 2,215. Capital goods stocks also reeled under mild selling pressure.

Sterlite Industries was the top gainer among the metal stocks. It was followed by Bhushan Steel, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, NALCO, Coal India and Jindal Steel. Among the oil & gas stocks, Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Cairn India, HPCL, Petronet LNG, Cail India and BPCL were among the top gainers.

The broader markets were trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index was up 26 points to 6,299, while the small-cap index slipped marginally into the red, lower by a point at 7,130.

The overall market breadth remained positive as 1,557 stocks advanced while 1,031 declined.