Sensex range-bound, fertiliser stocks up

After slipping into the red in early trades, the market continues to languish in negative territory owing to weakness in most of the counters. The Sensex is now down 23 points 6,724, while the Nifty has shed 14 points to 2,112.

ONGC at Rs 904 (down Rs 3) and Reliance (down Rs 4 to Rs 569) continue to trade at subdued levels.

HDFC Bank has lost 2.24% (Rs 13) to Rs 580, while SBI is down a tad at Rs 728. ICICI Bank, however, has rolled back into the green to Rs 403 - up Rs 2.

Bajaj (down Rs 13 or 1.23% to Rs 1,081), Hero Honda (down Rs 5 to Rs 548), Maruti (down Rs 8 or 1.78% to Rs 442) and Tata Motors (down Rs 3 to Rs 454) are largely unchanged from their earlier losses.

HPCL is down 1.47% (Rs 5) at Rs 334.

Bharti continues to trade with steep losses, and has shed 2.89% (Rs 6) to Rs 203. Hindalco and L&T have slipped a per cent each to Rs 1,432 (down Rs 12) and Rs 1,059 (down Rs 9), respectively.

Reliance Energy, however, has added 1.10% (Rs 6) to Rs 544.

UTV, which made its debut today, opened firm at Rs 165 against the offer price of Rs 130. The stock, after hitting a high of Rs 175.40 and a low of Rs 155, is currently trading at Rs 172.55 on volumes of over 31.44 lakh on the BSE.

Fertiliser stocks have firmed up in a lacklustre market. RCF has surged 7.93% (Rs 3) to Rs 39, while FACT has moved up 4.91% to Rs 29. NFL has added 4.70% to Rs 38, and Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals is up 4.31% at Rs 30. Gujarat Narmada is also trading at higher levels with a gain of 3.52% at Rs 70.

Metal stocks, however, have lost ground. Uttam Galva, after reporting strong gains in the last few sessions, has shed 4.72% (Rs 3) to Rs 70. While Mukand has declined 4.61% (Rs 4) to Rs 93, Sun Iron & Steel is down 4.55% at Rs 21. Electro Steel Castings, Kirloskar Ferous, PSL, Ispat and Kalyani Steel are also trading weak in a range of 2-3%.