Markets flare in late trades

Markets surge in the last leg of trade, Nifty breaks the resistance of 5460 and is trading higher by 52 points at 5466 and Sensex has risen 154 points at 18,203.

Among the sectoral indices, IT and auto indices have risen over 1%, pulling the bourses higher

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Updated at 15 08 hrs

Shrikant Chouhan from Kotak Securities says that market has formed a tight range activity at top of the rally; 5410 & 5460 are major support & resistance,

and only dismissal of these levels will invite a sharp activity 

On the global front, European indidces are trading lower due to a sell-off in commodity stocks. FTSE, DAX and CAC have dropped over 0.5% each.

Among the sectoral indices, FMCG continues to lead the gains, up 1%; Among the major movers, Godrej Consumers has risen 3.2%, Mcleod Russel & ITC have surged

1.5% each and HUL has added 1%

IT index is also shining in trade today, up 0.7%, led by gains in Midcap companies, Mphasis, up 2.9%, Rolta India, up 1.7% & HCL Tech which has gained 1.3%

Realty is the top sectoral loser, down 0.7%, accompanied by losses in Orbit Corporation and Indiabulls Realty, which have fallen over 2%, Unitech is down

1.3%

In the broader markets, the smallcap is up 0.5% and the midcap index is up 0.4%

Tata Motors up 3% leads the sensex gainers list followed by HDFC Bank, ONGC and HDFC.

The losers are Reliance Communications, down nearly 2%, followed by SBI and Mahindra & Mahindra, down 1.5% each. Heavyweight RIL is down 0.8% at Rs 963.

Market breadth is positive, with 1601 advancing stocks against 1325 declines.