Markets remain flat

Markets traded on a flat note in the noon deals, the Sensex was higher by 55 points at 18,064 and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5404 higher by 8 points.

Most of the Asian markets ended the day on  a mixed note, the Nikkei ended the day at 10,592 up 48 points, Straits Times ended the day lower by 15 points at 3196, Shanghai ended flat at 2799 and the Hang Seng was trading lower by 303 points at 23,605.

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(Updated at 12.30)

The markets traded on a subdued note in the last hour of trade, the Sensex was at 18,116 higher by 108 points and the S&P CNX Nifty was higher by 23 points at 5419.

According to Deepak Singh Tanwar, a Mumbai based technical analyst "After a sharp decline on Friday, the market seems to be taking a break. The outlook for the market continues to remain negative and will face hurdle around 5450. The outlook for the market will improve only above 5560".

Hero Honda was the top gainer on the Sensex, the stockl was trading higher by 3.46% at Rs 1588. ITC, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Jaiprakash Associates, Infosys, Reliance Communication and DLF were also trading higher by 1-2.2% each. On the other hand Cipla was the top loser, the stock shed 3% at Rs 314, Tata Motors, Hindalco Industries, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Auto and Tata Power were also trading in the red.

On the sectoral front the FMCG, Realty, Oil & Gas and Banking stocks witnessed some buying. The FMCG index was higher by 50 points at 3264. Realty, Oil & Gas, Bankex and Teck indices added 0.3-1% each. While the Healthcare index shed 1.25% or 76 points at 5995, Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Auto indices also languished in the trade.

ITC was the top gainer among the FMCG stocks up 2.3% at Rs 156, followed by Nestle, Tata Global Beverages, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate Palmolive and Dabur. Among the Realty stocks Unitech, HDIL, Phoenix Mills, Indiabulls Real Estate, DLF and Mahindra Lifespace were among the gainers. IPCA Labs, Cipla, Cadila Healthcare, Lupin, Ranbaxy and Dr Reddys were the top losers on the healthcare charts.

The broader markets traded in the red, the BSE mid-cap index was lower by 15 points at 6718 and the small-cap index was at 8291 down 39 points.

The overall market breadth tuned negative as 1444 stocks declined while 1179 stocks advanced.