Markets steady in morning trades

The benchmark indices have been trading in a constant manner this morning. The Sensex is quoting at 16679, higher by 53 points, and the Nifty has reclaimed the 5k mark and is now at 5005, up 18 points. The midcap index is quoting at 6835, higher by 1.1% and the smallcap index is at 8546, up 0.9%

Bharti Airtel has extended its gains and is now up 3.8% at Rs 267. The country's largest mobile telecom service provider announcing the completion of its deal on Wednesday to acquire the African assets of Kuwait's biggest phone company, Mobile Telecommunications Company, also known as Zain. ONGC has added another 2.3% at Rs 1193 and DLF is up 1.5% at Rs 261. And index heavyweight RIL added 0.8% at Rs 1005.

On the losers side, ITC has weakened by 3.6% at Rs 278 after turning ex-dividend. Hero Honda has shed 0.8% at Rs 1917 and Tata Power has lost 0.6% at Rs 1234. And RCom is under pressure for the second consecutive day, having shed 0.4% at Rs 166.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 2065 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1397 advancing stocks as against 592 declines.