Markets choppy; global cues weigh

After moving into the positive range in the early afternoon trades, the markets have once again lost their steam.The Sensex is trading up seven points at 20,165 while the Nifty is struggling to remain in the green at 6077, up three points.

In the braoder markets, the situation is static. The smallcap and the midcap indices continue to trade in the red, down 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. In the comparison, the benchmark index is outperforming at 0.04% in the negative.

Among the sectoral indices, Realty continues to drag, down 2% followed by Consumer durables and Oil & Gas losing 1% each. On the other hand, Bankex is up 1% leading the pack. IT and Healthcare are the only other indices in the green.

On the Asian front, the stocks are trading mixed. Japan's Nikkei rose 1% on the back of improved economic data. The Shanghai Composite advanced 0.9% paring its inital losses. Meanwhile, Hang Seng, Taiwan Weighted and Straits Times are trading lower by anything between 0.4% and 0.9%

The European markets continue to trade in the negative. CAC shed nearly 2% while FTSE and DAX are down 0.5% each.

The gainers in the Sensex -30 stocks are Cipla, HDFC Bank up 2% followed by SBI, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel adding 1% each.

On the losers side are Reliance Communication down nearly 3% followed by Jaiprakash Associates, DLF, Reliance Infrastructire and Hindalco losing 2% each.