Nifty volatile; pvt banks, oil & gas down, tech, metals up

ALSO READ See Key Market Stats - Top Gainers/ Losers, Most Actives, Highs/Lows See how Global Markets are trading Indian ADRs BSE | NSE 08/02/12

The Nifty started the day on a flat-to-negative note following mixed cues of Asian markets. It was also witnessing volatility. Technology and metal stocks gained while realty, capital goods, private banking & financial and oil & gas stocks were under pressure.

At 9:02 hours IST, the Nifty was trading at 4742, down 18 points and the Sensex was at 15870, down 65 points. However, the CNX Midcap was up 3 points to 7174 and the BSE Smallcap up 20 points 8211.

Among the frontliners, Sterlite, Unitech, DLF, Suzlon Energy, PNB, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ONGC, L&T, Reliance Industries, IDFC, Jaiprakash Associates and Jindal Steel were the losers.

However, SAIL rose 2.5%, as the company may issue bonus shares before its follow-on public offering (FPO), reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

Ranbaxy Labs gained 1.5%, as WHO said November inspection of Ranbaxy's Paonta Sahib plant found no problems at site.

Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, ITC, Wipro and Infosys were the other gainers.

Midcap & smallcap space:

Jubilant Foodworks shot up 5%, after yesterday's 65% rally.

Subex rose 7%, as its board approved issue of up to 6 million shares to promoters at Rs 80/share.

Vishal Retail was up nearly 5%.

Fame India gained 5%. Deepak Fertiliser was up 2.5%.

However, Shree Ashtavinayak fell 3.3% and Inox was down 0.5%.

Global cues:

Asian markets were trading mixed. Taiwan rose 1.5% and Kospi gained 0.5%. Shanghai was up 0.26%. However, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Straits Times fell 0.1-0.44%. Jakarta lost 1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months. It ended down 104 points at 9908.