Here's the simplest explanation to what's been happening in Dalal Street today

Both the Sensex and the Nifty inched up in afternoon deals on Wednesday even as traders remained fence sitters ahead of the futures and options expiry. The sentiment in Asia is flat. Meanwhile, here is a snapshot of how markets are trading around noon with a special focus on the futures and options space:

MAJOR INDICES:

NIFTY rose 16 points to 8,353. Infosys, HCL Tech and Hindalco were the top gainers.
SENSEX gained 52 points to 27,512 levels.
HANG SENG Index, in Hong Kong, rose 0.4 percent to 24,601 points
China's SHANGHAI weighted Index rose 8 points to 3,681 points
Japan NIKKEI Index down 0.1% to 20,302 points

SECTORAL INDICES:

BANK NIFTY rose 19 to 18,301 points.
CNX IT Index jumped 113 at 11,439 points
CNX FMCG Index down 181 at 19,972 points
CNX Metal Index fell 6 to 2,098 points
CNX Pharma Index lost 26 at 11,890 points
CNX PSU Bank dropped 49 points to 3,163 levels.

FUTURES AND OPTIONS

MAJOR GAINERS
Ceat Ltd.
Arvind Mills
Bosch

MAJOR LOSERS
Tata Comm
Glenmark
JP Associates

TOP OI GAINERS
M&M Fin
Shriram Transport
Idea

TOP TRADED FUTURES
Reliance Industries
HDFC Bank
Tata Motors

52-WEEK HIGHS
Bajaj Finserv
DCM Ltd.
GM Breweries

ADVANCE-DECLINE RATIO
Nifty: 27/23
Sensex: 16/14
Futures: 71/87
Broader Market: 1,493/931

Image credit: Indiatimes