Sensex steady

Lack of further action in most of the counters has seen the markets display a range-bound trend in afternoon trades. The Sensex is up 27 points at 6,678 on gains in banking, cement and other select old economy stocks. The Nifty has added seven points to 2,091.

ICICI Bank has logged 3.83% gains (Rs 14) to Rs 386. While SBI has gained 1.64% (Rs 11) to Rs 707, HDFC Bank (down Rs 3 to Rs 574), however, is exhibiting weak trends.

Bharti (up Rs 15 or 6.73% to Rs 239) continues to trade on a buoyant note.

Grasim and ACC are still up a per cent each at Rs 1,342 (up Rs 13) and Rs 365 (up Rs 3), respectively. Gujarat Ambuja is up 1.17% (Rs 5) at Rs 445.

HLL is up a notch at Rs 146. While ITC is still trading with a per cent loss (Rs 14) at Rs 1,324, Reliance is down a rupee at Rs 545.

Infosys (down Rs 4 to Rs 2,178) has slipped into the red after early gains. While Wipro is weak at Rs 672 (down Rs 3), Satyam is up with a steady gain of Rs 2 at Rs 396.

ONGC is still down a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 858.

L&T has shed 1.65% (Rs 19) to Rs 1,118, while HDFC has lost 1.20% (Rs 9) to Rs 772.