Markets end on a flat note

Breadth neutral as 1,271 stocks advance while 1,307 decline

Markets ended Tuesday's trading session on a flat note amid subdued global cues. The Sensex provisionally closed at 16,946, up 64 points and the 50-share Nifty advanced 16 points to provisionally close at 5,130 levels.
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(Updated at 1430 hours)

Markets are trading on a listless note in the late noon deals. The Sensex is up 12 points at 16,894 and the Nifty is trading higher by a point at 5,115. The markets have been trading in a very tight range in trades since morning. The Sensex has traded in a range of 100 points thus far.

Meanwhile, the European markets are 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 Nikkei,Hang Seng and Taiwan slipping 0.1-0.8% each.

Back home, Gail India is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 2.2% to Rs 351. Tata Power, ONGC, TCS, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, BHEL and Reliance Industries are also trading higher by 0.4-1.6% each. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever is the to loser, down 2.4% at Rs 449. Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, ITC, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI Bank are also among the laggards.

Led by gains in the heavyweight oil & gas stocks, the BSE oil & gas index is the top sectoral gainer, up 0.8% or 61 points at 7,942 levels. Power, PSU, healthcare, bankex and realty indices are trading marginally higher, up 0.1-0.5% each. At the same time, BSE FMCG index is the top sectoral loser, down 1% or 51 points at 4,817. Consumer durables, metal, IT, capital goods and auto indices are trading marginally lower.

McNally Bharat Engineering has soared 5% to Rs 93 after the company bagged a contract worth of Rs 64 crore for Kolkata Metro Project.

Reliance Power has moved higher by 2% to Rs 101.50, after the company said it has synchronized first of the two units of its 600 MW Butibori Thermal Power Project near Nagpur in Maharashtra.

The broader markets are in-line with the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index is up 7 points at 6,016 and the small-cap index is unchanged at 6,423 levels.

The overall breadth is neutral as 1,271 stocks are advancing while 1,307 are declining.