Markets Witness Choppy Trades This Morning

After the Sensex opening in the red and touching a low of 19,542, the BSE benchmark index tried to break into the positive range but fizzled out after reaching at 19,620. Thus far, the Sensex continues to trade with a narrow range of 78 points. On the other hand, the broader markets have advanced steadily since the opening today. The small cap index gained 0.8% and the midcap added 0.7% outperforming the Sensex, which is down 0.3%. Owing to this, the market breadth is strong. Of the total 2397 stocks traded on the BSE, 1511 stocks have advanced while 805 declined. There are no major changes in the sectoral performance. Realty further gained strength and is up 1.4% continuing to be the top gainer after several months of underperformance. Capital Goods, Power and PSU adding between 0.1% - 0.4% followed. Market breadth was positive on the NSE with 1503 advances against 681declines. Meanwhile, the Asian markets were mixed. Nikkei 225 was up 0.43 per cent, Seoul Composite declined 0.39 per cent higher and Strait Times moved 0.21 per cent lower.