Markets rebound in late-afternoon trades

The Sensex is now quoting at 17489, higher by 38 points and the Nifty is at 5239, up 14 points.

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(Updated at 1416pm)

The markets have been bereft of any activity in the afternoon session. The Sensex is now quoting at 17423, lower by 27 points and the Nifty is at 5218, down six points. The mid-cap and small-cap indices are trading flat at 6714 and 8450 respectively.

Auto major Tata Motors continued to languish in the red. Following up on its previous day's weakness, the auo major has shed another 2.5% at Rs 720. ACC has lost 2.1% at Rs 936 and HDFC is down 1.5% at Rs 2580.

And index heavyweight Reliance Industries is trading marginally lower at Rs 1083.

On the other hand, telecom major Bharti Airtel has strengthened by 2% at Rs 313 on the back of the Zain deal. Hindalco has appreciated by 1.9% at Rs 173 and Hindustan Unilever has added 1.5% at Rs 231.

The market breadth has turned negative. Out of 2853 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1338 advancing stocks as against 1423 declines.