Markets trade sideways

Markets traded sideways with a negative bias. The Sensex was down 53 points at 19,812, while the Nifty was at 5,930 down marginally by 18 points.

Gainers on the Sensex were Hero Honda, which gained another percent in the past hour, up 11% at Rs 1,867, followed by Cipla at Rs 361, and Wipro at Rs 473, both up 1%.

Top losers were Maruti Suzuki at Rs 1,350, followed by ONGC at Rs 1,300 and Bharti Airtel at Rs 337, all down 2%.
 
The Auto index continued to lead the sectoral indices chart up 1% at 9,982. Consumer Durables at 6,118 and IT at 6,593 were trading flat with a positive bias.

Top auto stocks were Hero Honda, also the top Sensex gainer, followed by Amtek Auto at Rs 139 up 4%, and Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 737 up 1%.

Banking stocks were still at the end of the sectoral chart, and slipped further in the past hour. The BSE Bankex was at 12,821 down 1%.

Union Bank of India at Rs 321, Axis Bank at Rs 1,283, and IndusInd Bank at Rs 247 were the top losers on the Bankex, all down 2%.

The market breadth remained positive, with 1,458 stocks advancing, and 1,129 declining stocks.