Rangebound markets end flat

Metal stocks amongst the worst hit

Markets ended today's rangebound session on a flat note. The Sensex provisionally closed higher by 20 points at 18,693 and the 50-share Nifty advanced 4 points to close at 5,674.
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(Updated at 1440 hours)

Markets are trading on a flat note in the late noon deals. The Sensex is up 49 points at 18,723 and the 50-share Nifty has advanced 10 points to 5,679. The markets have been trading in a tight range since morning. The Sensex has traded in a range of 150 points.

Meanwhile, the Asian markets ended flat in trades today after sentiment was weakened by data showing Germany's business confidence dropped in September, and a weak earnings forecast from Caterpillar Inc , both of which underscored worries about a global growth slowdown.

Hang Seng ended higher by 4 points at 20,698, Shanghai Composite index slipped 4 points to close at 2,029, Nikkei jumped 22 points to end at 9,091 and the Seoul Composite 12 points to 1,991.

The European markets were trading on a weak note. CAC40 and DAX were down 0.4% each.  While, DAX was trading marginally huigher at 5,843.

Back home, Cipla was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. It advanced 2.3% to Rs 364. BHEL, ITC, HUL, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra, reliance Industries, TCS and Gail India were trading higher by 0.4-2.3% each.

On the other hand, Jindal Steel was the top loser on the Sensex. The stock plunged 4.5% to Rs 425 on reports that the company has raised a bridge loan of Rs 660 crore to fund its CIC Energy acquisition.

Sterlite Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, NTPC, Coal India and Hero MotoCOrp are also among the laggards down 0.3-2.3% each.

On the sectoral front, the BSE realty index is the top gainer. The index has moved higher by 2.25% or 40 points to 1,844. FMCG, healthcare, consumer durables, power, IT, capital goods and bankex indices are also up 0.2-1% each.

At the same time, metal, auto, PSU and oil & gas indices are down 0.1-1.4% each.

Shares of SKS Microfinance were locked in 5% upper circuit at Rs 122.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange following a large block deal on the exchange.

Shares of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers were up over 6% on talks that the UB Group may sell stake its non-core assets to reduce the debt of its group company Kingfisher Airlines

The broader markets are also trading flat. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are up 0.4% each.

The overall breadth is neutral as 1,441 stocks are advancing while 1,335 are declining.