Markets have a quiet start

It is a listless start to the day's proceedings. The indices had snapped a four-day winning streak to end lower in the previous session after touching their highest level in nearly two-and-a-half years on account of softness across the European markets. And the sluggishness continues this morning, thanks to an indecisive set of cues on the global front. The Sensex is quoting at 17934, lower by three points and the Nifty is at 5384, down one point in early trades. The midcap index is at 7379, higher by 23 ponts and the smallcap index is at 9406, up 36 points. 

The US stocks had advanced on Wednesday, lifted by Intel's strong results, but weaker-than-expected June retail sales limited the gains. The Dow added 21 points at 10,384 and Nasdaq put on 16 points at 2,258. And the Asian markets have opened on a mixed note; Hang Seng has emerged stronger by 59 points, while Nikkei is down 100 points in early trades.

The information technology space is seeing a pullback rally after the correction witnessed post the Infosys results. Wipro has strengthened by 0.7% at Rs 409 and Infosys has gained 0.7% at Rs 2762. And RIL is trading flat, with a positive bias, at Rs 1071.

The major Sensex losers are HDFC (weakened by 0.9% at Rs 3047), RCom (shed 0.9% at rs 184) and Sterlite (lost 0.8% at Rs 166). 

Among the major result candidates of the day, TCS has slipped by 0.8% at Rs 768, while Axis Bank has added 0.7% at Rs 1324.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 1761 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1146 advancing stocks as against 564 declines.