Markets in choppy mood

As we expected, the Indian markets have shown some directionless movement in the morning. After the initial positive openings, the markets have slipped into the negative territory, indicating that volatility will be dominant in the day ahead. It seems that the markets have discounted the moderation of domestic inflation at the moment.

The three key Asian indices are showing mix trends, with Nikkei and Shanghai trading in positives, while Hang Seng has lost 0.08%.

Earlier, the European stocks closed in the negative even though the European leaders were in agreement about a bailout package for troubled Greece. Greece will have to take tight fiscal measures, and this is currently weighing high on the European stocks.

Among the sectoral indices, Oil & Gas has surged by over 1%. IT, Realty, HC and Power have also gained marginally at this hour. Metals, CG, CD and Bankex, on the other hand, have slipped in to negatives.

From the Sensex stocks, ONGC is up by 2.38%. Sun Pharma is also showing gains of over 1%. Of the Power stocks, Tata Power is up while NTPC is marginally down. Among the Capital Goods stocks, BHEL is trading in green while L&T is trading in the red. M&M is down by 1.16% after it declared its results yesterday. IT stocks such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys have also gained. RIL has gained by over 0.90% after it announced a joint venture in the rubber business.

Among the other stocks, Coromandel International, Aurobindo Pharma, Unitech, Adani Power and Shree Renuka Sugars have each gained over 2%. Lanco Infra, on the other hand, has given away 4%. Kingfisher Airlines is up by half a per cent after SBI announced financial help. Peer aviation stocks such as SpiceJet and Jet Airways are trading in negatives.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is mixed. Out of a total of 2610 stocks, 1255 stocks advanced and 1261 stocks declined. 94 stocks remained unchanged.

Going ahead, we expect the markets to remain volatile today.