Sensex ends up 44pts

The Sensex has ended (provisional) at 17,534 - up 44 points. The Nifty ended at 5,251 - up 19 points.

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(Updated at 1345pm)

There is not much happening on the bourses in the afternoon session. The Sensex is quoting at 17459, lower by 30 points and the Nifty is at  5226, down five points. The mid-cap and small-cap indices are marginally higher at 6760 and 8478 respectively.

M&M has weakened by 3.6% at Rs 1,083, TCS has slipped 1.9% to Rs 824 and Wipro has lost 1.6% at Rs 727. ONGC, Sterlite and NTPC are the other significant losers.

On the gainers list, Jaiprakash Associates has appreciated by 1.6% at Rs 150, Reliance Communication has strengthened by 1.5% at Rs 163 and Infosys is up 1% to trade at a 52-week high of Rs 2767.

And index heavyweight Reliance Industries has added 0.5% at Rs 1072.
 
The market breadth is marginally negative. Out of 2849 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1269 advancing stocks as against 1481 declines.