Markets stuck in a narrow range

Infosys top gainer among the Sensex stocks

Markets are stuck in a very tight range and are trading on a listless note in the late noon deals. The Sensex is up 5 points at 17,318 and the 50-share Nifty is down 2 points at 5,224. Since morning the Nifty has traded in a range of 13 points and the Sensex has moved in a range of 44 points.

Meanwhile, the Asian markets are also trading on a flat note ahead of the crucial ECB meet which is scheduled later today. Shanghai Composite index is up 5 points at 2,043, Hang Seng has shed 2 points to 19,143 and the Nikkei is down 12 points at 8,667.

Back home, Infosys is the top Sensex gainer, up 2.7% at Rs 2,400 on reports that India's second-biggest software services provider is open to bigger deals given the right opportunity. Jindal Steel, Wipro, Cipla, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, TCS, Sterlite Industries, SBI and HDFC are also trading higher by 0.3-2.3% each.

On the other hand, BHEL, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Coal India, Dr Reddy's Labs and Larsen & Toubro are among the losers, down 0.5-2.7% each.

Led by gains in the IT heavyweight Infosys the BSE IT index has advanced 1.8% to 5,829. Realty, bankex, metal, healthcare and PSU indices are trading on a flat note, up 0.2-0.6% each.

While, the FMCG, capital goods, power, oil & gas, auto and consumer durable indices are in the red, down 0.3-1% each.

Among the individual stocks, West Coast Paper Mills has plunged 8.2% to Rs 65 on reports that US-based International Paper Mills is planning to buy a stake in the West Coast Paper Mills.

The broader markets are in-line with the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index is up 20 points at 6,044 and the small-cap index has advanced 10 points to 6,401.

The overall breadth is marginaly positive as 1,213 stocks are advancing while 988 are declining.