Markets in consolidation mode

It is another day of quiet consolidation, as has been the case for sometime now. The opening was firm, with RIL spurting by around 1% on the back of a 32% jump in Q1 net. But with the index heavyweight losing its way, the indices took no time to pare their gains and are now stuck in a narrow range of a handful of points. And with the markets refusing to react to the positive vibes emanating from Asia, one would have to wait for the European opening to see how the afternoon session pans out back home. The Sensex is currently quoting at 18058, lower by 19 points and the Nifty is at 5425, down five points.

M&M continues to be the leading gainer on the Sensex; the auto major has jumped 2% at Rs 653, Tata Steel has gained 1.6% at Rs 538 and Tata Power has added 1.5% at Rs 1341. Cipla, Tata Motors and Hindalco are the other significant gainers.

On the other hand, RIL has slid by 1.2% at Rs 1040, ICICI Bank has weakened by 1% at Rs 913 and ACC has lost 0.6% at Rs 843.

The market breadth is positive; Out of 2777 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1539 advancing stocks as againt 1118 declines.