Markets trade in a narrow range; L&T moves up after result

Benchmarks are managing to trade above the neutral line though in a narrow range as investors are taking a cautious approach before opening any long position. However some buying is being witnessed at the lower level, helping the indices to trade in green. The much awaited Larsen and Toubro and has soothed the street , the stock  that was in somber mood since beginning too has inched higher on strong numbers ,the company's net profit after tax for the fourth quarter rose by 17.25% at Rs 1686.21 crore as compared to Rs 1438.10 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. Its total income has increased by 13.23% at Rs 15754.03 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 13913.09 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. Meanwhile, leads from the Asian markets remained mixed while the European counterparts begin their session on a sanguine note and are trading with smart gains. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 5,400 and 18,100 levels, respectively. The Sensex outperformed the Midcap and the Small-cap indices. The market breadth on the BSE was in favor of declines in the ratio of 1089:1560 while 132 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex was up 67.51 points or 0.37% at 18,153.71. The index touched a high and a low of 18,198.45 and 18,057.82 respectively.

The BSE Mid-cap index down 0.53%, while the Small-cap index was trading lower by 0.34%.

On the BSE sectoral front, Oil & Gas up 1.51%, Capital Goods up 1.50%, IT up 0.41%, PSU up 0.33% and FMCG up 0.17% were the few gainers.

While, Realty down 1.76%, Power down 0.70%, Health Care down 0.64%, Metal down 0.40% and Consumer Durables down 0.10% were laggards in the BSE sectoral space.

The top gainers on the Sensex were L&T up 2.73%, RIL up 1.74%, M&M up 1.45%, TCS up 1.16% and ONGC up 0.95%.

On the flip side RCom down 3.43%, Tata Power down 2.22%, Hero Honda down 2.08%, DLF down 1.78% and Hindalco down 1.10% were losers on the BSE index.

India's food inflation have continued its downward trajectory for the week ended May 7, 2011 on the back of cheaper pulses, vegetables and wheat. Besides, it being the third consecutive week in which the food Inflation has declined, the price rise in the food items is at its lowest rate in the last 18 months. These numbers may bring some ease to the government and the RBI which have been striving hard for controlling Inflation.

According to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Thursday, the food price index declined at 7.47% during the week ending May 7, compared with a corresponding figure of 7.70% a week ago. However, non-food primary articles were up 23.82 per cent during the week under review. The primary articles price index was up 10.94%, compared with an annual rise of 11.96% a week earlier. The government and Reserve Bank had said that in months to come, inflationary pressure would be more from core (non-food) items on account of high global prices of commodities, particularly crude.

The index for fuel and power group, which has a weight of 14.91% in the WPI, stood at 12.11% for the week under review as compared to 12.25% for the previous week.

Though food prices inflation have eased for the third consecutive week but headline inflation, at 8.66 per cent in April, remains considerably higher than the central bank's comfort level, thereby maintaining pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates in June and continue a hawkish stance. The central bank raised interest rates in early May -- its ninth rate hike since March 2010 -- by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points and said fighting inflation was its priority, even at the expense of short-term growth.

The S&P CNX Nifty gained 14.70 points or 0.27% at 5,435.30. The index touched high and low of 5,452.60 and 5,411.25 respectively.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Gail up 3.11%, L&T up 2.97%, IDFC up 2.52%, RIL up 1.88% and M&M up 1.38%. While, RCom down 3.14%, Grasim down 2.93%, Hero Honda down 2.36%, Tata Power down 2.27% and DLF down 2.11% were the top losers on the index.

The Asian markets were trading on a mixed note. Hang Seng up 0.66%, Strait Times up 0.88% and KLSE Composite up 0.18%. On the flip side Nikkei 225 declined 0.43%, Seoul Composite dropped by 1.89%, Shanghai Composite down 0.45%, and Taiwan Weighted down 0.58%

The European markets were trading in green. CAC 40 up 0.52%, DAX advanced 0.59% and FTSE 100 gained 0.48%.

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