The markets have been stagnant in the past one hour; the Sensex has now shed 74 points at 17894 and the Nifty is down 20 points at 5354. But the broader markets are singing a different tune. The mid-cap index has added 0.3% at 7075 and the small-cap space is richer by 0.8% at 9060. And the market breadth is strong, with the gainers outnumbering the losers in the ratio of 2:1.
The opening was soft, given the weakness in the US and on the Asian front, and in continuation of the profit-booking that emerged after the Sensex breached the 18k mark on the previous day. And the indices have been languishing below the dotted line thereafter.
Tata Motors has weakened by 1.4% at Rs 781 on the BSE. HDFC has shed 1.2% at Rs 2769 and Bharti Airtel has lost 1.2% at Rs 316. ONGC, Sterlite and HDFC Bank are the other significant losers.
On the gainer's side, M&M has raced ahead by 1.5% at Rs 537 and DLF has strengthened by 1.1% at Rs 335. And information technology stocks are seeing bargain hunting after being hammered in wake of the strengthening rupee. Infosys is trading higher by 1% at Rs 2672 and Wipro has added 0.9% at Rs 722. And index heavyweight RIL has recovered from its intra-day low of Rs 1105 and is now trading virtually unchanged at Rs 1127.
