Markets range-bound

Hyderabad: After two days of sharp rally, markets remained range-bound and edged higher on Thursday. The benchmark Sensex rose 11.44 points to end the day at 25,561.16 points, driven by gains in stocks from consumer durable, power and metal sectors.

Nifty closed the day with a marginal gain of 16.05 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 7,640.45, its second straight highest close since July 7. Intra-day, it moved in the range of 7,655.65 and 7,612.70.

After rising nearly 64 points in early trade, the BSE Sensex shed gains amid profit-booking in realty, oil & gas and auto stocks. It resumed higher at 25,540.92 before advancing to 25,613.03 but was later trapped in a narrow range. It closed 11.44 points, or 0.04 per cent higher. Among 17 gainers at Sensex pack, Hindalco surged 3.91 per cent, followed by Tata Power (3.53 per cent). M&M was the biggest loser with 3.18 per cent drop.

At Nifty, metal, infra, PSU bank, pharma, FMCG indices gained while realty, auto indices declined. 31 of Nifty stocks gained and broader market was positive with Advance Decline ratio at 1.8:1. Tata Power, Grasim, Kotak Bank, ACC and Hindalco were major gainers while M&M, IDFC, Bajaj Auto and DLF remained losers.