The markets had yet another session of weakness, they were sluggish throughout the day and were hovering around the previous day close.

The Sensex closed at 11,465.72 down 12 points. The Nifty closed flat at 3,357 up 3 points.

The BSE Small Cap Index closed at 5,766.64 down 39.22 points or 0.68%.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 4,770.31, down 32 points or 0.67%.

The BSE sectoral indices closed mixed. The BSE Metal Index lost 1.5% at 8,080.03. Hind Zinc, Sterlite Ind, Jindal Saw [Get Quote], Hindalco [Get Quote] witnessed selling pressure.

The BSE Bankex was down 0.6% at 5,128.73.  Bank of Baroda [Get Quote], Andhra Bank [Get Quote], Vijaya Bank [Get Quote], IOB, Union Bank moved downwards.

The BSE IT Index closed flat at 4,198.42. HCL [Get Quote] Tech, Moser Baer [Get Quote],  Mphasis BFL, Patni Computer closed in red.

The BSE Oil and Gas Index gained 0.14% at 5,451.95.  BPCL [Get Quote], HPCL [Get Quote], Kochi Refin, MRPL and IOC advanced.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was lost 0.3% at 7,722.34.  Dredging Cor, KEC Infrastruct, Larsen, Gammon India [Get Quote] closed lower.

The BSE FMCG Index was flat at 1,984.37.  Nestle [Get Quote], HLL [Get Quote], Tata Tea [Get Quote], Nirma closed in positive terrain.

The BSE Auto Index gained 1% at 4,923.99. Hind Motors, Bharat Forge [Get Quote], Punj Tractors, Asahi India and Maruti Udyog [Get Quote] advanced on the bourses

The BSE Health Care Index was up by 2% at 3,556.53.  Pfizer [Get Quote], Aventis Pharma [Get Quote], Novartis India [Get Quote], GlaxoSmithKline [Get Quote] and FDC closed in positive terrain.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 6427.47 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 17859.84 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 3223.34 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 27510.65 crore.

Markets Today:

Markets end flat amid range bound session
Sensex down 11.76 points at 11467.72; Nifty up 2.85 points at 3356.75
BSE Healthcare Index up 2.17%; new pharma industry margin policy
Pfizer up 8%, Glaxosmithkline up 6.76%, Cadila up 5.34%
BSE Auto Index up 1.02% at 4939.99
Maruti, Hero Honda, Tata Motors [Get Quote] ends firm
BSE Metal Index down 1.46%; Sterlite Ind down 2.7%, Hindalco down 2.25%
Hind Zinc down 3%, cut zinc prices by Rs 8,200/ton
NSE Advance Decline ratio at 1:1
Total market turnover at Rs 27510.65 cr Vs 35145.6 cr

F&O UPDATE

Turnover at Rs 17859.84 cr
Nifty Futures discount at 2 pts
Nifty Futures add 9 lakh shares in OI
Top Traded: Guj Ambuja,Essar Oil [Get Quote],Indus Ind Bank,India Cement
Top Traded:Orchid Chem,Tata Steel [Get Quote],IDFC [Get Quote]
Arvind Mills [Get Quote],Century Tex adds  4 lakh shares in OI
Essar Oil adds 13 lakh shares in OI
GUj Amb adds 25 lakh shares in OI
HPCL,IDFC adds 6 lakh shares in OI
ITC adds 5 lakh shares in OI
IndusInd [Get Quote] adds 10 lakh shares in OI
India Cement adds 15 lakh shares in OI

Sensex @ 1408 hrs

The markets have slipped on account of rising selling pressure in index pivotals. At 14.08 pm IST, the Sensex is down 48.07 points or 0.42% at 11,429.41, and the Nifty down 10.45 points or 0.31% at 3343.45.

About 1093 shares have advanced, 1262 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.

Top gainers on the indices are Maruti Udyog, Cipla, HLL, BPCL, HPCL and GlaxoSmithKline

Top losers on the indices are Hindalco, Tata Steel, Reliance Energy [Get Quote] , HCL Tech and Suzlon Energy [Get Quote]

Index heavyweight Hindustan Lever was trading at Rs 237.70 up 1.19% from its previous close of Rs 234.90.

Index heavyweight Reliance was trading at Rs 1,053.90 down 1.08% from its previous close of Rs 1,065.40.

Tech major Infosys [Get Quote] was trading at Rs 1,753.00 down 0.31% from its previous close of Rs 1,758.40.

Cigarette major ITC was trading at Rs 180.25 down 0.55% from its previous close of Rs 181.25.

Refinery major HPCL was trading at Rs 271.90 up 6.92% from its previous close of Rs 254.30.

Sensex @ 1307 hrs

The markets are witnessing volatility but BSE healthcare has outperformed the other indices.  At 1.07 pm IST, the Sensex was down 11 points at 11,464, and the Nifty flat at 3,353.

About 1204 shares have advanced, 1050 shares declined, and 82 shares are unchanged.  Biggest gainers on the indices were Cipla, Maruti Udyog, Tata Motors, ACC, GlaxoSmithKline, BPCL and HPCL.

Maruti Udyog was quoting at Rs 835.70, up Rs 16.40, or 2.00%, BPCL was quoting at Rs 362.60, up Rs 15.35, or 4.42%, HPCL was quoting at Rs 264.50, up Rs 10.20, or 4.01%.

Hindalco, HDFC Bank [Get Quote], Bharti Airtel [Get Quote], Tata Steel, HCL Tech and Oriental Bank [Get Quote] were major losers on the indices.

The BSE healthcare has outperformed the other indices, it was up 2.26% at 3559.51.

BSE Healthcare gainers:
GlaxoSmithKline was quoting at Rs 1,215.30, up Rs 83.90, or 7.42%.
Pfizer was quoting at Rs 790.50, up Rs 49.65, or 6.70%.
Novartis India was quoting at Rs 470.00, up Rs 30.00, or 6.82%.
Aventis Pharma was quoting at Rs 1,595.00, up Rs 94.15, or 6.27%.
Nicholas Piramal [Get Quote] was quoting at Rs 229.00, up Rs 11.30, or 5.19%.

Sensex @ 1211 hrs

The markets are trading flat and continue to hover around the previous day's close. At 12.11 pm IST, the Sensex is up 15.27 points or 0.13% at 11492.75, and the Nifty up 6.35 points or 0.19% at 3360.25.

About 1168 shares have advanced, 1022 shares declined, and 73 shares are unchanged.
Top gainers on the Sensex are Cipla up 2.31%, Maruti Udyog up 2.23% and Tata Motors up 1.92%.
Top gainers on the Nifty are GlaxoSmithKline up 7.19%, HPCL up 3.77% and BPCL up 3.40%.
Top losers on the Sensex are Hindalco down 1.94%, HDFC Bank down 1.3% and Tata Steel down 0.83%.
Top losers on the Nifty Oriental Bank and PNB.
Index heavyweight Hindustan Lever was trading at Rs 237.55 up 1.13% from its previous close of Rs 234.90.
Index heavyweight Reliance was trading at Rs 1,067.10 up 0.16% from its previous close of Rs 1,065.40.
Tech major Infosys was trading at Rs 1,760.30 up 0.11% from its previous close of Rs 1,758.40.
Cigarette major ITC was trading at Rs 181.75 up 0.28% from its previous close of Rs 181.25.

Sensex @ 1111 hrs

The markets continue to trade at lower levels due to lack of buying interst in scrips. At 11.11 am IST, the Sensex is down 0.94 points or 0.01% at 11476.54, and the Nifty up 2.05 points or 0.06% at 3355.95.

About 993 shares have advanced, 940 shares declined, and 68 shares are unchanged.

Top gainers on the Sensex are Maruti Udyog up 1.79%, Cipla up 1.78%, Tata Motors up 1.70%.

Top losers on the Sensex are Hindalco down 2.67%, HDFC Bank down 1.64%, Reliance Comm down 1.36%

Top gainers on the Nifty are GlaxoSmithKline up 6.84%, HPCL up 3.05% and BPCL up 2.69%.
 
Top losers on the Nifty are PNB down 1.67% and Oriental Bank down 1.55%. 

Index heavyweight Hindustan Lever was trading at Rs 236.90 up 0.85% from its previous close of Rs 234.90.

Index heavyweight Reliance was trading at Rs 1,065.75 up 0.03% from its previous close of Rs 1,065.40.

Tech major Infosys was trading at Rs 1,758.80 up 0.02% from its previous close of Rs 1,758.40.

Cigarette major ITC was trading at Rs 181.25 down 0% from its previous close of Rs 181.25.

Sensex @ 0957 hrs

The markets have opened on negative note. At 9:57 am, the Sensex was down 29 points at 11,447. The Nifty was down 6.5 points at 3,347.

Reliance, Hindalco, OBC, PNB, Grasim [Get Quote], SAIL [Get Quote] and Nalco were trading lower.

However, top gainers were SBI [Get Quote], ONGC [Get Quote], Tata Motors, Hindalco, ITC, Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank [Get Quote], Suzlon, L&T, Reliance Comm, Bajaj Auto [Get Quote], BPCL, Dabur [Get Quote], GSK [Get Quote] Pharma, Tata Power [Get Quote] and Hindustan Motors [Get Quote].

Asian markets were trading with modest gains; Japan's Nikkei share average was up 117.19 points or 0.73% at 16,138.03.

FIIs were net buyers of $204.7 million and MFs net buyers of Rs 27 crore (Rs 270 million) in equity on August 16.

Wall Street soared on sharp drop in oil prices and strong earnings; Dow Jones ended up 7.84 points, or 0.07%, to 11,334.96.

A barrel of light crude settled at $70.06, down $1.83, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group

Chat with market expert Pranav Sanghavi every Tuesday

For more information about trading and markets log on to www.moneycontrol.com