Markets trade lacklustre; IT shares slide

Markets were trading on a subdued note as investors turned to the sidelines due to escalating tensions in Libya which was pushing up crude prices.

The S&P CNX Nifty was trading in narrow range of 65 points, the index touched an high of 5,413 and a low of 5,348. At 1330 hrs, the index was up 19 points, at 5392 and the Sensex advanced 53 points, at 17,930.

Investors remained nervous over developments in Libya after Coalition forces attacked the country and Gadhafi continued to fight, refusing to relinquish power. Crude spiked to $116 per barrel, up 1.5%.

Investors dumped Realty and IT shares. The BSE Realty index fell 0.7% and the  IT index was down 0.6% each. From the IT space, TCS slipped 0.7%, Wipro was off 0.6% and Infosys slumped 0.5%.

From the realty pack, HDIL fell 2%, Sunteck Realty lost 1.9% and Mahindra Lifespace was down 1.8%. BSE Healthcare index was leading the gains, up 0.3%. Opto Circuits advanced 5.3%, Lupin zoomed 2.4% and Sun Pharma was up 1.9%.

In the broader markets space, BSE midcap and smallcap indices were trading flat. Top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC, up 1.6%, Jindal Steel, up 1.5% and Tata Steel, up 1.3%. Losers were Hindalco, down 2.1%, Cipla declined 1.5% and Maruti was off 0.6%.

Market breadth was in favour of the declines, for 1486 stocks that advanced, 1234 stocks declined.