Markets remain range-bound; ONGC, GAIL top gainers

Benchmark indices are trading marginally positive amid choppy trend led by capital goods and oil shares.

By 10:20, the Sensex gained by 49 points at 25,236 and the Nifty slipped by 14 points at 7,547 mark.

On the global front, Asian shares struck a cautious tone on Tuesday as the double-whammy of a deepening conflict in Iraq and a gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia sapped investors' appetite for risk.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend with rise of a 0.5 percent, though it was still down on the week so far.

Oil prices remained near nine-month highs after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized a large swathe of northern Iraq and threatened to capture a key oil refinery.

Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 194.10 crore on Monday, 16 June 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The rupee falls as much as 0.65% to 60.55, its lowest level since April 29, as escalating tensions in Iraq continue to fuel concerns over inflation while subdued equity markets also weighed.

On the sectoral front, BSE Capital Goods, Power, Oil & Gas and Consumer Durables indices have surged by nearly 1% each. However, BSE Auto and FMCG indices have declined marginally.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies are trading higher in fourth straight trading sessions as the Indian rupee weakened against the dollar.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, MphasiS, Hexaware Technologies, Mindtree and Tech Mahindra are up 1-2% in early morning deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The main gainers on the Sensex are ONGC, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, GAIL, Coal India, L&T, Axis Bank and Sesa Sterlite.

On the losing side, M&M, HDFC, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel have declined between 1-2%.

Among other shares, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals has gained 2.33% to Rs 65.95, with the stock recovering on bargain hunting after recent steep slide.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 0.8-1%.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm 1,404 shares advancing and 612 shares declining.