Markets end flat

The markets witnessed profit-booking during the day after scaling fresh three-month high at the opening bell.  The indices finally ended flat; the Sensex closed marginally in the red at 19,687 down 15 points, while the Nifty ended at 5,902 up 2 points.

After a dull opening, the bourses started declining in the morning session. Paring losses late morning, the markets slipped again, and exhibited range-bound trade thereafter. In the afternoon session, the Sensex slipped 207 points to the day's low of 19,524. The markets, however, recovered partially, but continued to operate in a negative belt.

As the markets neared closing, the Sensex rebounded into the positive zone for the breif while and eventually ended the day on the flat note. Crude prices simmered above $120 per barrel today due to unabating political turmoil in Libya and Yemen, and political uncertainty in Nigeria. A sustained rise in oil prices threatens to inflate commodity prices, which could mount pressure on the inflation scenario worldwide, especially in the emerging markets.

Gainers on the Sensex were led by Sterlite Industries at Rs 178 and TCS at Rs 1,242 both up 3%, followed by Reliance Communications at Rs 112 up 2%.

Tata Power was the top loser on the BSE benchmark, down 2% at Rs 1,313, while FMCG major Hindustan Unilever at Rs 275 and Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 733 both down almost 2%.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark, with the Mid-cap index at 7,156 up 0.8%, and the Small-cap index at 8,716 up 1.4%.

In the Mid-cap space, Arss Infra Projects was up 13% at Rs 617, followed by Alok Industries at Rs 26 up 11% and SpiceJet at Rs 44 up 10%. In the small-cap segment, TajGVK Hotels was the top gainer up 19% at Rs 112, while Garware Offshore at Rs 138 gained 16% and Mukand closed up 15% at Rs 56. Suven Life rallied 14% to Rs 23 as the company received the US health regulator's approval for setting up a manufacturing facility at Andhra Pradesh.

On the sectoral front, the Consumer Durables index rallied 2% at 6,456, followed by the Metal and Realty indices at 16,694 and 2,419, up 1.2% and 0.6% respectively.

On the consumer durables index, Bajaj Electricals gained 3% at Rs 258, followed by Gitanjali Gems at Rs 273 and Whirlpool at Rs 273 both up 3%. Amongst the metal stocks, Sesa Goa led the pack at Rs 314 up 6%, followed by Bhushan Steel at Rs 468 up 4% and Sterlite Industries at Rs 178 up 3%. In the realty counter, Anant Raj Industries was the top gainer at Rs 89 up 4%, followed by Indiabulls Real Estate at Rs 137 and Sobha Developers at Rs 311 both up 3%.

Oil & Gas stocks took a beating today as oil prices soared to $120 a barrel, 2.5 year-highs, and oil manufacturing companies pegged their annual revenue losses from fuel subsidies at approximately Rs 78,000 crore. The index declined 0.5% to 10,253. Indian Oil Corporation was the major laggard on the index today, down 1% at Rs 325. Cairn India at Rs 365 and Oil India at Rs 1,325 were off nearly 1% each.

With 1,985 stocks advancing, and 944 declining, the market breadth remained fairly positive.