Nifty, Sensex listless; HDFC, SBI, Bharti gain 1%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were lacklustre in trade, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks, rising 1%. The market breadth was strong as about two shares advanced for every share declined on the National Stock Exchange.

The BSE benchmark slipped 12 points to 17418 whereas the NSE benchmark gained 7 points to 5,285.65 after hitting an intraday high of 5300.8.

Housing finance company HDFC, country's largest lender State Bank of India and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rallied 1% each.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank and private steel producer Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries climbed 1.8% each.

Utility vehicle maker M&M, state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL, top car maker Maruti Suzuki, aluminium producer Hindalco Industries and power producer NTPC moved up 1% each.

However, FMCG majors ITC and HUL tanked 2.5% and 1.65%, respectively. Shares of TCS, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and JSPL were down 1-2%.

In the second line shares, Punj Lloyd, HCC, Crompton, Lanco Infratech, Adani Enterprise and Adani Power surged 4-6%.

HDIL, IFCI and Sintex Industries were up 2%. However, OnMobile Global, Manappuram Finance, Ashok Leyland and TVS Motor fell 1.6-2.6%.

European markets remained strong. France's CAC and Germany's DAX climbed over 1% while Britain's FTSE was up 0.75%.