Markets turn volatile in late noon trades

Markets are marginally higher amid volatility in late noon trades led by ITC and index heavyweight Reliance Inds. At 1440 hrs, the 30-share Sensex was up 54 points at 16,084 and the 50-share Nifty was up 15 points at 4,874.
On the global front, the Nikkei ended 1% higher as upbeat Japanese economic growth data trumped worry about Europe and investors shopped for bargains. European markets are trading flat with negative bias.
Back home, BSE Capital Goods index has plunged by almost 2% followed by sectors like Consumer Durable, Auto, Technology, Healthcare and Power, all declining between 0.1-1%.
On the gaining side, BSE FMCG index has zoomed by almost 2% followed by counters like Realty, Metal and Banks, all gaining by nearly 1% each.
L&T is the top Sensex loser, down over 3%. Nomura has downgraded Larsen & Toubro to 'reduce' from 'buy', and nearly halved target price to 992 from 1,691. BHEL has declined by nearly 1%.
Auto shares like M&M and Bajaj Auto have slipped by almost 2%. Bajaj Auto is trading lower by over 2% at Rs 1,582, falling 3.3% from intra-day high after reporting 12% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in net profit before exceptional items at Rs 759 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2012.
Other notable losers include Cipla, ONGC, Tata Power, Hindalco, Sun Pharma, TCS, BHEL and Infosys.
From the FMCG space, ITC continue to witness substantial buying demand, up almost 3% on reports that the company has signed an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to build a luxury hotel in Colombo.
Banking and financial shares like HDFC, HDFC Bank and SBI have gained between 1-2.5%. Index heavyweight Reliance Inds is up over 1%.
Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap indices are trading flat with positive bias.
The market breadth in BSE remains slightly positive with 1,317 shares advancing and 1,272 shares declining.