Markets trading in a narrow range, HDFC top loser

BSE Realty, TEck, Oil & Gas and IT indices have surged between 1-2%

Key share indices continue to remain volatile in a narrow range, oscillating between negative and positive terrain.

By 12:45, the 30-share Sensex was up 12 points at 19,337 and the 50-share Nifty was down 2 points at 5,852.

According to Sahaj Agrawal, Deputy Vice-President (Derivative Research) at Kotak Securities, “Seeing the sell-off in the market in previous sessions, short positions are building up. Therefore, broadly, we see a range of 5,800-5,950 on the Nifty."

On the global front, markets moved off their early lows to trade mostly higher Friday, as investors dipped a toe back into battered markets, although Chinese shares remained weak. Nikkei has added 37 points to 11,346. Shanghai Composite was trading unchanged at 2,328.

Back home, the rupee recovered from initial losses and was being quoted higher by five paise at 54.42 against the US dollar in late morning trade today.

The rupee's gain was boosted by fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of persistent capital inflows from foreign funds into equity market.

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty, TEck, Oil & Gas and IT indices have surged between 1-2%. However, BSE FMCG and Auto indices are down nearly 1%.

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Sun Pharma, RIL, GAIL, ONGC, Infosys and Tata Steel, all surging between 1-4%.

On the losing side, HDFC, Tata Motors, HUL, ITC and Maruti Suzuki have declined between 1-2%.

Among individual shares, DLF touched a yearly high of Rs 281.80 in an otherwise flat trading session today. At 1220 hrs, the stock was up 2.7% at Rs 280.

The stock of the country's largest real estate company, has appreciated since the management announced its intention to reduce its debt by half to Rs 11,000-12,000 crore over the next 2-3 years.

Pennar Industries has jumped in noon deals after bagging orders worth Rs 50 crore for pre-engineered buildings.

Network 18 Media & Investments has jumped as the company looks on to sell stake in its business directories -Yellow Pages and ASK Me.

Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index has gained by 0.16% whereas BSE Smallcap index is up by 0.13%.

The market breadth in BSE remains unhealthy with 1,292 shares declining and 1,160 shares advancing.