Stock market midday report: Sensex down 96 points, Nifty around 18,200

The Indian stock indices pared most of their losses in the lunchtime session, but they remain below the neutral lines, with the Sensex and Nifty trading below at 61,300 and 18,300, respectively. Stocks in banking, real estate, and power were boosting the markets, while those in telecom, auto, and technology were adding to the underlying cautious tone.

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On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower with KOSPI falling 25.86 points or 0.89% to 2,864.24, Hang Seng decreased 126.57 points or 0.52% to 24,091.46, Nikkei 225 slipped 76.27 points or 0.27% to 28,257.25, Taiwan Weighted dropped 146.80 points or 0.79% to 18,378.64 and Jakarta Composite was down by 93.45 points or 1.41% to 6,551.60. On the other hand, Shanghai Composite gained 19.42 points or 0.55% to 3,561.09 and Straits Times was up by 2.90 points or 0.09% to 3,290.85.

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The Sensex is presently trading at 61212.04, down 96.87 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 60948.04 and 61475.15. On the index, there were 10 stocks that advanced and 20 stocks that declined.

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The broader indices were trading in red with the BSE Midcap index losing 0.43%, while the Small cap index was down by 0.12%. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.87%, Realty up by 0.70%, Power up by 0.51%, Utilities up by 0.49% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.47%, while Telecom down by 1.50%, Auto down by 0.87%, TECK down by 0.84%, Basic Materials down by 0.76% and IT was down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

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The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.89%, HDFC Bank up by 1.36%, Titan Company up by 1.34%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.32% and ICICI Bank was up by 0.56%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.75%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.36%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.13%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.34% and HCL Tech was down by 1.33% were the top losers.

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The Nifty is now trading at 18262.40, down 45.70 points or 0.25% after fluctuating between 18186.20 and 18350.95. On the index, there were 13 stocks that advanced and 37 stocks that declined.

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The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 1.91%, HDFC Bank up by 1.39%, Titan Co up by 1.26%, BPCL up by 1.24% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 3.21%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.68%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.42%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.24% and Tata Consumer Products down by 1.90% were the top losers.