Markets erase gains, Sensex up 50pts

The markets have erased a majority of its gains owing to weakness in capital goods stocks. The Sensex touched a high of 16,679 in early trades, thereafter the index has pared gains. The index is now up 48 points at 16,464. The NSE Nifty is up 16 points at 4,935.

The BSE Capital Goods index has declined over 1% to 11,860.

Tata Steel is the major gainer among the Sensex stocks, up over 4% at Rs 466. DLF, Sun Pharma, Reliance, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp are the other major gainers.

On the other hand, ONGC has plunged over 4% to Rs 263. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Power, Bajaj Auto and ITC are the other prominent losesr.

Alstom Projects, Bharat Electricals and Thermax are the other significant losers in the capital goods space.

Global markets, however, continue to remain positive. Hang Seng has rallied 1.5%. Nikkei and Taiwan too are up nearly 1% each.

Back home, two trading holidays seem to be weighing on the market sentiment. Traders are hestitant to carry forward positions, as the markets will remain closed for the next two days for local festivities, and re-open on Friday.