Sensex flat amid seesaw trade; capital goods, Bharti down

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The market continued to hover around its previous closing value due to lack of global cues. Though Greece debt deal has not happened yet, global markets were mixed. The Sensex was down 55.4 points at 17,651.91 and the Nifty fell 14.35 points to 5,347.30.

Capital goods majors L&T and BHEL were down 1.4% & 2.6%, respectively. Shares of Bharti, Tata Steel and GAIL fell over 2%.

Major largecaps like Infosys and HDFC dropped 0.6%. HUL, M&M, Sun Pharma, Sterlite, NTPC and DLF slipped over 1%.

However, Reliance Industries retained its top position in the buying list, rising 1.5%. ICICI Bank and ITC rose 1% each. HDFC Bank, TCS, ONGC, JSPL, Wipro and Hero Motocorp gained 0.5-0.9%.

Even the market breadth was negative; about 1204 shares advanced while 1557 shares declined on the BSE.

Airline stocks spiked after EGOM approved direct import of aviation turbine fuel by airline companies. Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet surged 12-14%.

Arjuna Mahendran, managing director and head of investment strategy (Asia) at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) says that he is not too worried about the Greek situation at the moment. He says that liquidity into emerging markets will continue driving equities. European markets were flat.

He expects returns from EMs, including India, to the tune of another 10-15%.

At 12:56 hours IST : Nifty in narrow range; Cairn tops buy list

The Nifty was moving in a tight range of 5355-5380 since morning trade after a rally seen in previous five sessions. Banks and index heavyweight Reliance Industries continued to support the market while infrastructure and Bharti Airtel weighed down. The BSE benchmark rose 11 points to 17,718 and the Nifty gained 4.5 points at 5,366.15.

Among largecaps, shares of Cairn India topped the buying list, rising 3.5% post crude hit 6-month high yesterday to USD 116.5 a barrel.

ACC, Jindal Steel, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero Motocorp, ICICI Bank and ITC climbed 1-2%.

However, Bharti Airtel was the biggest loser among largecaps, falling 2.5%. Sun Pharma, BHEL, HUL and GAIL fell nearly 2%.

In the midcap space, Puravankara Project, South Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Birla Corp and Madras Cements shot up 5.5-11% while Manappuram Finance plunged 16%. Zydus Wellness, India Infoline, KSK Energy Ventures and Muthoot Finance slipped 5-7%.

Smallcap stocks like JSW Holdings, Mangalam Cement, Numeric Power, Nalwa Sons and Manaksia gained 10-17% whereas Bliss GVS, NCC, Su-raj Diamonds, Midvalley Entertainment and Kama Holdings tanked 5-10%.

The market breadth remained neutral.