Markets stuck in a range

Markets are trading in a narrow range on a flat note. The Sensex is up 77 points at 15,959 and the Nifty is up 24 points at 4,773. The Sensex has traded in a range of 105 points thus far.

According to Ravi Nathan, a Mumbai based  technical analyst,"4,800 is very important level for nifty -If it sustains than we might see a fresh rally on charts whereas next resistance would be at 4,860."

Hero MotoCorp is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 2.2% at Rs 1,827. Tata Power is trading higher by over 2% at Rs 94. Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, J P Associates, BHEL, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla and ICICI Bank are also trading higher by 1.3-2.1% each.

On the other hand, DLF is the top loser, down 3% to Rs 181. Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, ITC, ONGC, Coal India, Wipro and Reliance Industries are also among the laggards.

Among the individual stocks, Shares of capital goods companies are in limelight at the bourses and have rallied for the fourth consecutive day on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

CCL Products (India) has rallied 14% to Rs 143 on reports that the export of instant coffee reached an all-time high during the calendar year 2011. The company is the largest coffee exporters accounted 11% of the total coffee export made by the India.

Brigade Enterprises has zoomed 7% to Rs 47.40 on reports that the company is looking to raise around Rs 150 crore through private equity route by offloading a part of its stake in one of the commercial project located at Bangalore.

Auto stocks are witnessing renewed buying interest in trades today. The BSE Auto index is the top sectoral gainer, up 1.5% at 8,227. Capital Goods index has also jumped 1.5% to 8,682 levels. Buying is also visible in banking, power, consumer durables, metal, healthcare and technology stocks.
 
At the same time, Realty index is the top sectoral loser, down nearly 1% at 1,411. FMCG, oil & gas, and PSU stocks are also under a mild selling pressure.

From the capital goods space, Usha Martin is the top gainer, up 2.6% to Rs 25. Crompton Greaves, Suzlon Energy, Lakshmi Machine Works, Alstom Projects, ABB and Thermax are also among the gainers from this space.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices have added over 0.6% each in trades thus far.

The overall breadth is positive as 1,541 stocks are advancing while 863 are declining.