Nifty ends below 5,300

HDFC Bank near lifetime high post Q4 results

Markets end Wednesday's trading session on a flat note. The Sensex provisionally closed at 17,379 up 21 points and the Nifty closed provisionally at 5,295, up 5 points.
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(Updated at 1430 hours)

Markets are trading on a firm note in the late noon deal. The Sensex is up 108 points at 17,465 and the Nifty has advanced 35 points to 5,324 levels.

According to Somil Mehta, senior technical analyst with Sharekhan, "Nifty is still trading in a range between 5,400 and 5,150 and i am expecting more consolidation going forward, either side break out would decide the trend."

The Asian markets ended hgher in trades today. Nikkei ended higher by 2.15% at 9,667 levels. Hang Seng advanced 1% to 20,781 and the Shanghai jumped 2% to 2,380 levels.

Meanwhile, the European markets have opened on a subdued note. The CAC and DAX have opened marginally lower while the FTSE has opened higher by 7 points at 5,774 levels.

Back home, HDFC Bank is trading on a firm note, near its lifetime high price post the Q4FY12 results. The stocks has advanced 1.3% to Rs 538. The bank reported a 30.3% rise in net profit to Rs 1,453 crore, beating analyst forecasts, helped by higher fee income and credit demand as well as lower provisions for loan losses.

Hindalco, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Tata Power, Jindal Steel, Sterlite Industries, Gail India, Wipro, Tata Steel, ONGC and Hero MotoCorp are also among the top gainers among the Sensex stocks, up 1.2-3% each.

On the other hand, ITC, DLF, Coal Inida, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever are among the notable losers.

All the sectoral indices except the FMCG index are trading higher. BSE Auto index is the top sectoral gainer, quoting near its lifetime high levels. The index has advanced nearly 2% or 183 points to 10,554. Healthcare, Metal, Consumer Durables, Power, Oil & Gas, Bankex, Capital Goods and PSU indices are also quoting higher by 0.5-1.4% each.

Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, Mahuindra & Mahindra, Apollo Tyres and Hero MotoCorp are the top gainers from the auto space.

The broader markets are up nearly 1% each. The BSE mid-cap index has advanced 54 points to 6,489 and the small-cap index has jumped 54 points to 6,394 levels.

The overall breadth is positive as 1,685 stocks are advancing while 1,059 are declining.