The markets have edged back into the positive territory due to strength in the telecom and FMCG counters. With the Wall Street having a slippery session and the Asian markets having an unspectacular morning, our bourses had tripped on opening bell. But the indices have proved their resilience by not only arresting a possible decline, but subsequently gaining in strength. The Sensex is now quoting at an intra-day high of 17302, higher by 40 points and the Nifty is at 5184, up five points. The midcap and smallcap indices are marginally in the positive at 7025 and 8954 respectively.
Bharti Airtel has rallied over 3% to Rs 266. Cipla and ITC have advanced over 1% each to Rs 318 and Rs 269, respectively. Reliance Communications, TCS and ONGC are the other notable gainers.
On the other hand, Tata Steel, Jaiprakash Associates and Mahindra & Mahindra have declined over 1% each to Rs 569, Rs 132 and Rs 559, respectively.
The market breadth is neutral. Out of 2343 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1124 advancing stocks as against 1136 declines.
