Markets continue to remain range bound

 Markets continue to remain range bound

Markets ended lower today after trading in negative territory for a major part of the day. Action was muted at FII and Mutual fund desks. Select buying support was seen from domestic insurance companies. Weak global cues also played a part in today's weakness.

While the Sensex closed 110.97pts or 1.21% lower at 9,090.88, the Nifty lost 23pts or 0.82% to close at 2780.05. The broad market indices too ended lower as the BSE Midcap and Small Cap indices were down by 0.65% and 0.85% respectively. Market breadth was negative as A/D ratio was 0.69:1 on the BSE. NSE cash turnover was lower at Rs.6,925crs. Vs. Rs.7,899crs. on Wednesday.

Barring the BSE Metals and Healthcare index, all the sectoral indices ended lower. The top losers were the BSE Auto, Consumer Durables, IT, capital goods and Oil and Gas indices. The top gainers from the BSE-30 were Grasim, Tata Steel, Ranbaxy, ACC and ICICI Bank. The top losers were Sterlite, M&M, Maruti, HDFC and TCS.

The markets continue to trade in a narrow range. Narrow ranges are usually followed by a big move. One can therefore expect a big move once the Nifty breaks out of the 2750-2850 range. We recommend a cautious approach till there is more clarity on market direction.