Markets continue to move sideways

Auto and IT space show weakness

Markets continued to move sideways in afternoon deals with Asian markets offering no positive cues for recovery. The Sensex was unchanged at 18,753 while Nifty was flat at 5,698.

Meanwhile in Asia, bourses remained in red with the Nikkei slipping 0.5% at 9007 ahead of the US elections. The yen recouped some earlier losses, prompting investors to take profits from last week's gain while investors shunned riskHang Seng and Shanghai Composite were down in trades as well.

Broader markets were flat as well. BSE mid-cap index was unchanged at 6,643 while small-cap index added 5 points to 7,069.

"Overall setup of market remains positive as we have seen that addition in open interest is taking place on the long side. We had seen an uptick in PCR with a marginal decline in IV. On an intraday basis 5700 will act as a good support & positional wise 5600 on closing basis," said Nandish Patel, Derivative Analyst, Sharekhan.

BSE healthcare index has gained 0.7% at 7,769, followed by FMCG and consumer durables indices. However weakness can be seen in the auto and IT spaces. Both indices have shed around half a per cent in noon trades.

Hindalco has slipped 3% to Rs 115. Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and GAIL were down 1-2% each.

On the other hand, ITC was the key mover - up 1% at Rs 287. Dr Reddy's gained 1.6%, followed by Cipla, BHEL and Coal India.

Among other stocks, Allahabad Bank has dipped 7% to Rs 129 after reporting 52% year-on-year fall in its net profit at Rs 234 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012, due to lower interest income and higher provisioning for bad loans.Analyst on an average had estimated profit of Rs 454 crore from the state-owned bank.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India is trading higher by 2% at Rs 1,446, after touching a record high since its listing in March 2012, following the board's decision to pay an interim dividend of Rs 12 per equity share (120%) of face value Rs 10 each for the current financial year 2012-13.

BSE market breadth was neutral as well. Out of 2,728 stocks traded, 1,352 shares declined while 1,248 shares advanced.