Rangebound markets end flat

Broader markets outperform

The markets ended today's rangebound session on a flat note. The Sensex closed lower by 2 points at 17,748 and the 50-share Nifty higher by 5 points at 5,363 levels.
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(Updated at 1440 hours)

Markets are trading on a listless note in trades today. The Sensex is down 4 points at 17,745and the 50-share Nifty has shed 5 points to 5,353 levels. Since the start of the day the markets are stuck in a very narrow range and the Nifty has traded in a range of 25 points.

Meanwhile, the European markets were also trading with a negative bias as investors cashed in some of last week's sharp gains ahead of a German ruling on the euro zone's new bailout fund, Dutch elections and potential new stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The CAC 40 index was down 2 points at 3,516, DAX slipped 1 points to 7,212 and the FTSE 100 was down 13 points at 5,782.

The Asian markets also ended on a lacklustre note after weak U.S. jobs data and soft Chinese data weighed on the investor sentiment. The Hang Seng advanced 25 points to 19,827, Shanghai Composite advanced 7 points to 2,135 and the Nikkei slipped 2 points to close at 8,869.

Back home, BHEL is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 2.2% to Rs 198. State bank of India, Jindal Steel, Tata Power, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Cipla, TCS, Reliance Industries and HUL are also among the laggards from the heayweight space.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Coal India, Hindalco, Tata Motors, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Gail India and Larsen & Toubr are also among the gainers.

On the sectoral front, metal, consumer durables, healthcare, auto, PSU and IT indices are trading higher. While, realty, bankex, power, FMCG and oil & gas indices are trading lower in trades today.

Among the individual stocks, Pantaloon Retail (India) (PRIL) has rallied 4% to Rs 149 after Future Group Company announced merger of Future Value Retail, which houses Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, with the company.

Aurobindo Pharma is trading higher by 3% at Rs 132, extending its 8% rally in past two days after the company received final approvals from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market anti-hypertension drug Amlodipine Besylate and Benazepril Hydrochloride capsules in various strengths.

Balmer Lawrie and Company has dipped 6% to Rs 584 on turning ex-dividend today. The stock opened at Rs 616 and hit a low of Rs 578 on the National Stock Exchange. A combined 16,619 shares have changed hands on the counter so far on both the exchanges.

ARSS Infrastructure Projects has locked upper circuit of 20% at Rs 44.40 after the company said it has entered in to agreements with Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) Lenders led by State Bank of India.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index is up 0.3% or 21 points at 6,163 and the small-cap index has advanced 0.6% to 6,540.

The overall breadth is neutral as 1,440 stocks are advancing while 1,284 are declining.