Markets trade flat, Sensex, Nifty move with care

Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex moved in a small range with a negative bias today, hit by a fresh spell of selling in consumer durables, capital goods and realty. Energy shares traded up.

The Sensex resumed higher at 31,331.21 and hovered between 31,353.46 and 31,174.24 before reading 31,203.62 at 1136 hours, down 18 points, or 0.06 per cent. The NSE Nifty was also down 7.50 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 9,607.50 at 1136 hours.

Major losers were Hero MotoCorp (2.09 per cent), Dr Reddy’s (1.45 per cent), Wipro (1.29 per cent) and Axis Bank (1.19 per cent).

Asian shares rose on market strength in the United States as oil’s longest stretch of daily price gains in over five years lifted the energy counter. Markets in Seoul were briefly shaken by a missile launch by North Korea, which comes on the eve of the Independence Day in the US.

Better-than-expected auto sales and a strong report on US factories also boosted stocks. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 804.67 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

PTI