Markets head higher

The Sensex is now quoting at 16680, higher by 63 points and the Nifty has reclaimed the 5k mark and is now quoting at 5007, up 19 points.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Updated at 0225pm)

The markets have pared almost all their gains in a sudden bout of volatility. The Sensex is now quoting at 16644, higher by 30 points and the Nifty has slipped below the 5k mark and is now quoting at 4997, up 10 points. The midcap index is quoting at 6787, higher by 29 points and the smallcap index is at 8503, up 35 points.

Bharti Airtel has steadfastly held on its gains and is now up 5% at Rs 270. Tata Steel has gained 2.3% at Rs 462 and Sterlite has added 2.3% at Rs 623. And index heavyweight RIL has bounched back from the day's lows of Rs 1000 and is now up 0.9% at Rs 1005.

The weakness seems to be emanating from the BSE FMCG index, which has shed more than 2%. ITC has weakened further and is now down 4.2% at Rs 277. Dabur has shed 1.7% at Rs 192 and Colgate has lost 1.2% at Rs 818. Among the other index stocks, Tata Power has lost 1.3% at Rs 1225 and Wipro has shed 1.2% at Rs 635, while Tata Motors, Hero Honda and Infosys have lost in the region of a per cent each.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 2754 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1755 advancing stocks as against 884 declines.