Markets end flat amid volatility

Oil & gas stocks end on a firm note

The benchmark indices ended flat on Tuesday, amid a range bound trading session, tracking lacklustre global cues. The Sensex ended at 16,906, up 24 points after trading in a 120-point range and the Nifty advanced 6 points to close at 5,121 levels trading in a 40-point range.

Meanwhile, the European markets were also trading on a flat note with investors uncertain that anything substantive will emerge from this week's European leaders summit to resolve the region's debt crisis. The CAC 40 index is down 7 points at 3,014, DAX has advanced 9 points to 6,141 and the FTSE 100 is up 11 points at 5,461 levels.

The Asian markets ended lower in trades today with the exception of Hong Kong's Hang Seng which ended marginally up.

Back home, oil & gas stocks were amongst the top gainers among the Sensex stocks. GAIL (India) was the top gainer. The stock advanced 3.6% to end at Rs 356. ONGC and Reliance Industries also edged higher in trades today and closed with a gain of 2.2% and 1.14% each respectively. RIL gained after the company said it bought back 900,000 shares at an average price of Rs 710.32 from the open market through stock exchanges under its ongoing share buyback program on Friday, 22 June 2012.

Tata Power, HDFC Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, TCS, NTPC, Hindalco, Dr Reddy's Labs, BHEL and Jindal Steel were also among the gainers from the Sensex pack.

On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever was the top loser among the Sensex stocks, the stock ended lower by 2% to end at Rs 451. Sterlite Industries, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro were also among the laggards.

led by gains in the oil & gas heavyweight stocks, the BSE oil & gas index was the top sectoral gainer. The index ended higher by 1.4% or 110 points to close at 7,992 levels. Power, PSU, healthcare, bankex, auto and realty indices also ended higher in trades today.

At the same time, consumer durable stocks were the worst hit in trades today. The BSE consumer durable index slipped nearly 1% or 60 points to close at 6,124 levels. FMCG index also ended weaker by 0.9% or 44 points to close at 4,825 levels. Metal, capital goods, teck and IT indices also closed marginally lower.

Among the individual stocks, Educomp Solutions ended higher by 3% at Rs 172, extending its four-day 22% rally after the company said it has tied up $155 million, or about Rs 852 crore, worth funds to pay off its existing foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) on due date and to fund its capital expenditure and strengthen its balance sheet.

Manappuram Finance rallied 11% to Rs 30 extending its 24% surged in past four trading sessions, after Baring India Private Equity acquired 5.94% stake in the company.

Essar Oil ended lower by 3% at Rs 53 on reports that the Gujarat High Court (HC) has directed the state government to expedite the recovery of the company’s sales tax deferral liability of about Rs 8,000 crore, including interest and penalty.

The broader markets ended on a listless note. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 20 points to close at 6,030 and the small-cap index ended higher by a point to close at 6,424 levels.

The overall breadth was neutral as 1,383 stocks advanced while 1,355 stocks declined.