Markets off highs

The markets have given up some of their gains in the past hour due to selling pressure at higher levels. The Sensex is now quoting at 17465, higher by 55 points and the Nifty is at 5224 up 19 points.

There is action in the broader space though. The mid-cap sector has gained more than half a per cent at 6735 and the small-cap space is up by almost a per cent at 8500.

The US markets ended in the green, with the Dow adding 44 points and Nasdaq advancing by 21 points. And the Asian markets are trading higher; Hang Seng has surged 230 points and the Taiwan index has added 23 points in early trades.

The leading gainers on the Sensex are Tata Steel (strengthened by 1.6% at Rs 639), Jaiprakash Associates (added 1.2% at Rs 148) and Reliance Industries (added 1.2% at Rs 1086). BHEL, Sterlite and Hindustan Unilever are the other notable gainers.

The major Sensex losers are M&M (weakened by 0.9% at Rs 1039), ACC (shed 0.8% at Rs 961) and and ITC (lost 0.6% at Rs 259).

 The market breadth is strong. Out of 2466 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1490 advancing stocks as against 873 declines.