Flat trades continue, consumer durables shares perk up

Consumer durables shares are in action on hopes of demand following the reduction in excise duty

Benchmark share indices continued to remain rangebound in late trades on Wednesday with consumer durables shares in action following the reduction in excise duty proposed in the interim budget.

The 30-share Sensex was up 42 points at 20,676 and the 50-share Nifty was up 11 points at 6,138.

Asian stocks were trading mixed with profit taking after recent gains. The Nikkei ended down 0.5% after rising nearly 3% on Tuesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.3% and the Shanghai Composite rebounded from its day's lows and was up 1% ahead of its central bank's policy on interest rates while Straits Times was up 0.5%.

European shares were trading firm led by PSA Peugeot Citreon after the auto major announced a partnership with a Chinese competitor. The CAC, DAX and FTSE were up 0.1% each.

Defensive shares were among the top Sensex gainers. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were up 0.5-2% each. Sun Pharma gained 2%.

Meanwhile, capital goods were up after the excise duty was cut by 2% to 10% to stimulate growth. L&T and BHEL were up 1% each. ABB was up 3% after its net profit jumped 3.47 times to Rs 59 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 2013 compared to Rs 17 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Auto shares witnessed profit taking after recent gains. M&M, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto were down 1-1.5% each.

Metal shares which had recently firmed up on demand from China and higher global prices also witnessed profit taking. Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, Hindalco were down 1-2% each.

Ranbaxy was up 3% on talk that the pharma major Israel's Teva pharmaceutical Industries are set to settle over allegations that the two rival generic drug makers made an unlawful agreement to restrict competition.

Consumer durable shares were in the limelight on hopes that manufacturers would pass on lower excise duty benefits to consumers thereby spurring demand. PC Jeweller, Titan, Whirlpool, VIP Industries, Blue Star, Gitanjali Gems and Bajaj Electricals were up 2-4% each.

The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.3-0.5% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,327 gainers and 1,214 losers on the BSE.