Broader markets outperform, BSE Midcap index up 1%

Benchmark indices are witnessing absolutely lackluster trades with Sensex and Nifty swinging between negative and positive zone.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 309.70 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

At 11:45 AM, the Sensex was flat at 21,171 and the Nifty gained 2 points to trade at 6,307.

Adds Mohit Gaba, Independent technical analyst & trader, “the Nifty is in a range of 6260 - 6350, and until we get a breakout its difficult to say which side it will move”.

On the global front, Asian stock markets are closed today for New Year Holidays.

Back home, the rupee weakened in morning trade due to dollar buying from oil importers.

At 11:45 am, the rupee was quoting at Rs 61.91 compared with previous close of Rs 61.80 per dollar.

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty, Consumer Durables and Healthcare indices are up 1-2%. However, BSE IT and Power indices are down marginally.

Shares of real estate companies are in focus and are trading higher by up to 13% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in otherwise subdued market.

Godrej Properties, Indiabulls Real Estate, Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), DB Realty and Sobha Developers are trading higher by 2-13%, while DLF, Anant Raj, Unitech and Prestige Estates are up 1% each.

Other notable gainers are Cipla, Coal India, Hero Moto, GAIL and ITC.

On the losing side, Tata Power, Wipro, HDFC, TCS and Axis Bank have declined between 0.5-1%.

Tata Power drops as Arvind Kejriwal seeks CAG audit of Delhi discoms.

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today reported 4.4% decline in its total sales at 90,924 units in December 2013 as against 95,145 units in the same month previous year.

Among other shares, Elder Pharmaceuticals has soared 14% to Rs 262 on back of heavy volumes on the bourses. The stock opened at Rs 234 and hit a low of Rs 229 on the BSE.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up nearly 1%.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,316 shares advancing and 669 shares declining.