Sensex, Nifty end volatile trade higher; RIL, DLF lead

Key equity benchmarks ended flat after yesterday's unexpected run up. The BSE benchmark Sensex ended up marginally at 19,642, after touching an intraday high of 19,742. The NSE 50-share Nifty closed up 3.15 points at 5,942.85, after touching an intraday high of 5,971.

It is really the absence of volatility that is causing a concern because markets are doing almost nothing, says technical analyst Sudarshan Sukhani.

Shares in Reliance Industries extend gains to 3 percent, after the company said it will invest over USD 5 billion in the next three to five years jointly with UK partner BP to boost declining output at a key natural gas field off India's east coast.

Oil marketing companies trading higher, with traders saying that oil and gas stocks are likely to benefit from government reforms in the sector.

Indian Oil Corp up 1.1 percent, Bharat Petroleum Corp gains 3 percent and Hindustan Petroleum Corp is up 2.8 percent.

DLF shares gain 3.7 percent, hitting their highest level since January 11, 2011, on continued hopes of an earnings recovery and on a CLSA upgrade. The property developer gained 8.6 percent in the previous two sessions.

About 1497 shares have advanced, 1321 shares declined, and 679 shares are unchanged.

The NSE benchmark Nifty continued to languish below 5950 after paring all its intraday gains. Europe was trading mixed and Asian markets moved higher. In the absence of any positive trigger, market is waiting for the Union Budget to take cues for a direction.

Market has largely remained rangebound despite improving economic picture wherein exports have improved and wholesale prices have declined. Deregulation of diesel prices did give some bounce, but the market has fallen back in the range-bound trap.

At 15.03 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 16.28 points at 19652.00, and the Nifty was 6.70 points up at 5946.40.

Cipla, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Tata Motors were trading with 1 percent cut. IDFC was the biggest largecap loser with losses going up to 1.71 percent.

The gaining side was teeming with stocks like Reliance Industries, DLF, BPCL, Ambuja Cement and HCL Tech.

Although oil & gas along with real estate stocks continued to lend support to the equity market, momentum was fast fading. At 11.40 AM, the Sensex was trading at 19664.46, up 28.74 points and the Nifty hovered 12.65 points up at 5952.35.

Reliance, BPCL and GAIL, which have significant weightage on the equity benchmarks, moved 2.16 percent, 2.54 percent and 0.5 percent respectively. ONGC slumped on profit-booking after stupendous rally on Monday.

In the realty space DLF and IndiaBulls Real Estate were the winners with 2.3 percent gains each, followed by Oberoi Realty and Pantaloon Retail (rose 1 percent each). In the midcap, Bombay Dyeing was trading with 3.3 percent gains. Unitech, which saw huge sell-off last week after getting embroiled in fresh telecom controversy, gained 3.72 percent. However, DB Realty failed to recover.

Meanwhile, bond yields fell to 7 percent after government decided to cancell auction on Monday. The INR was trading at

Key indices were firm in early trade, and appeared to be building on Tuesday's gains. Brokers said the sentiment had improved slightly, but did not see fund managers or traders over committing themselves before the Budget.

The Sensex was up 65 points at 19701, and the Nifty was up 18 points at 5958.

Lanco Infratech, Opto Circuits and Dish TV were among the key gainers in early trade, up 2-3 percent.

Among laggards, JP Power was down close to 6 percent, and Godrej Consumer, Glenmark Pharma and Tata Communications were down 1-2%. Second line shares have been pounded over the last three weeks, and brokers said it would be a while before appetite for those shares improved.

Jet Airways shares were flat at Rs 592 a day after the airline announced discounted seats. Analysts tracking the stock said the move would be beneficial in the short term by way of improved cash flows, but could hurt over the medium term.

SpiceJet shares were down over 1 percent to Rs 40.75 as the ongoing fare war is expected to hurt all players.

Broadly, shares from the oil & gas and realty shares were steady, while capital goods, power and healthcare shares were sluggish.