Sensex volatile; Maruti up on Manesar unit reopening talk

Indian shares remained volatile as they were consolidating at previous closing levels after rising more than 5.5% in last two weeks on strong inflow of foreign money. Foreign institutional investors bought more than Rs 6,500 crore worth of Indian equities in previous two weeks.

Country's largest maker Maruti Suzuki rallied 2% as reports that the company will decide on Menasar plant reopening today. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel gained nearly 2% on short covering as the stock had fallen more than 10% in previous session due to disappointing June quarter results.

State-owned ONGC trimmed gains to 1.8% from 3.8% on profit booking; the company's Q1FY13 net profit surged 48% to Rs 6,078 crore YoY.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 6 points at 17,563.86 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 5 points to 5,325.30. The broader markets were outperforming benchmarks with 0.4% gains.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 0.3% as the company sold 25% stake in Yemen oil block for USD 90 million. Housing finance company HDFC too was up 0.3%.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL gained more than 1% while engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro went up 0.3%.

Cigarette major ITC fell 1% and top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors dropped 1.5%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank tanked 1% while its rival State Bank of India was down 0.7%. Technology majors TCS, Infosys and Wipro were marginally lower.