Oct ends on dull note; large-caps perform: Udayan

October has been a very quiet series; a series of consolidation in October where the Nifty just about inched up 1 percent and today was a fitting end to the range-bound series with the Nifty trading in a 30-point range throughout the day before closing flat around the 5,700-level, explains Udayan Mukherjee, managing editor, CNBC-TV18.

Below is an edited transcript of the analysis on CNBC-TV18
So not much has moved. Analysts and investors are eagerly looking forward the direction the markets might take in the November series with the Reserve Bank meeting next week and some crucial global and local events.
Thursday was an unexceptional day for the large-cap universe. A few stocks like Lupin, Hero MotoCorp and M&M, particularly after the results which were very good, and HDFC, which held the index out. But on the way down, the pharmaceutical stocks were under pressure.
Some public sector banks like PNB, BoB, and SBI disappointed. DLF was down quite a bit and HUL did not help. So, the Nifty struggled in a range throughout the day before finally closing around that 5,700 for settlement.
The mid-cap index was mostly in the red for most part of the series. The big story there was IRB Infra and the way it collapsed after the alleged connection with BJP chief Nitin Gadkari. So, sentiment was very heavy on that counter as it plunged nearly 15 percent.
There was some profit-taking in some of the real estate counters as well. Stocks like Unitech, HDIL, Indiabulls Real Estate were all down today.
Lanco had bit of a cut, along with Nagarjuna Construction and GMR from the infrastructure  segement.
Most of the UB Group stocks like United Spirits and UB Holdings came off, but towards the end, Kingfisher did not do too badly on reports of a settlement with the employees' union.
Other stocks which corrected included Sintex, Tata Global Beverages, some of the ADAG Group stocks and Sun TV which came out with a surprising revelation that it was buying an IPL team from Deccan Chronicle, which  slipped after that announcment.
On the way up, Peninsula Land continues its spectacular run. Stocks like Subex did well. OBC was up. Hexaware and Arvind Mills were other stocks which did quite well, as did some banks like YES Bank and Karnataka Bank.
Overall, the mood in the mid-cap was a little sour even as the large-caps traded in a range on the day of the expiry of the October series. But now all eyes are on November and the verdict is split on whether markets might move out of the phase of consolidation.