It started as a good day for markets but the frontliners failed to hold their gains at the higher levels and ended near the lowest point of the day. The rally in the midcaps and smallcaps continued and the market breadth was significantly positive. Nifty closed flat at 5,908, while Sensex shut shop at 19,633 down 65 points.

Analysts believe that it is better to stick to the midcap index and also some of the leading frontline highly liquid counters rather than get into counters which have just about started seeing explosive volumes because volumes can dry up as fast as they have spurted up.

Ajay Srivastava of Dimensions Consulting believes a basic shift has taken place in terms of the demand and supply in the midcaps and smallcaps space. He said there is a lot of liquidity in the stocks. As an investor one should ideally allocate 20-25%, not more than that of the portfolio to midcap and smallcap, he explains. “The critical element is that whenever there is a correction, in the liquid stocks, in the mainline stocks, you can sell out. Here, there is no exit for months.” he adds.

So, he said, people must be very clear that they will have to hold these stocks for longer periods and volatility is very high. Therefore, he advises, not to allocate more than 20-25% to these stocks, irrespective of the returns of 30-35%.

Dipan Mehta, Member Of BSE & NSE feels that clearly there is a changing complexion of the investors in the market and the liquidity flows over the past couple of months was from institutions and the FIIs which were driving these stocks over here and "therefore we saw the kind of outperformance in the large cap stocks and the index stocks but over the past about 15-20 trading sessions, we have seen the emergence of the Indian retail investors category into the market and that’s the reason why we are seeing so much of action and pick up in volume in some of the midcap and the smallcap stocks".

Experts feel that there are typical stocks which are quite illiquid and even with the small dose of capital coming into these counters, they have fantastic moves, which is seen over the past few days.

Top Five Gainer's

Company	Price (Rs)	% Change
+ Nirma Limited	211.50	+27.49
+ Apollo Tyres	43.90	+19.62
+ Essel Propack Ltd.	61.50	+16.37
+ Vijaya Bank	84.00	+13.98
+ Dabur India	125.70	+13.86

Top Five Loser's

+ Federal Bank	368.15	-22.41
+ Dredging Corpora	1,212.55	-4.91
+ Bongaigaon Refin	100.45	-4.52
+ Hind. Petrol	302.30	-4.49
+ Bharat Petroleum	415.45	-4.42

The market was sluggish and frontline stocks slipped in late trade. The Sensex closed in the negative at 19633, down 65 points while Nifty closed at 5907, up only 0.80 point, from the previous close. The BSE Midcaps and the BSE Smallcaps both closed nearly up by 3%. The market breadth was positive with advances at 949 against declines of 256 on the NSE. The Sensex gainers included Tata Steel, ACC, ONGC and Bajaj Auto while losers included Reliance Industries, ITC, RPL and HDFC Bank.

In the FMCG sector, stocks that have good long-term prospects include P&G, Godrej Consumer Products, Britannia and Marico Industries, says Jigar Lodaya of Sharekhan Securities, on NDTV Profit.

The stars of the day in the BSE Midcaps segment have been Nirma (up 32%), Vijaya Bank and CBoP (both up 15%) and Excide (up 13%), reports NDTV Profit.

Neyveli Lignite has a short to medium term target price of Rs 270, says Hitendra Vasudev, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. But it can acheive this target only if it breaks the resistance of Rs 228, he adds. Keep a stoploss of 205-206 for now, he says. A good level to enter the stock is Rs 180, he says.

Buy NTPC CMP Rs 270 Target Rs 320-325

If NTPC can break its earlier highs, then it can easily go to Rs 320-325, says MB Singh, technical analyst, on Zee Business.

The market is holding on to its gains and is witnessing broad based interest. The Sensex is at 19,807, up 109 points from the previous close. Nifty is at 5961, up 54 points. Market breadth is extremely positive, with 1003 advances against 187 declines on the NSE.

The banking space as a whole looks promising, says Rahul Mohindar, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. Allahabad Bank has a short term target of Rs 135, he says. The stock is currently trading at Rs 125.15, up 5.3% on the BSE.

Vijaya Bank can go up over 25% from its current levels in the next 3-6 months, says Rahul Mohindar, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. The stock is currently trading at Rs 82.50, up 11.9% on the BSE.

The markets opened with gap up on the back of strong cues from the US markets, however the Asian cues were not very encouraging today. Buying was seen across the sectors in the early trade today.

At 9:56 am, Sensex was up 270 points at 19971 and Nifty was up 71 points at 5968. Major gainers in the early trade were Rel Energy, RPL, Essar Oil, ACC, NTPC, ITC, Hindalco, MTNL, ICICI Bank, HUL.

Asian markets: Asian markets mostly rose today, boosted by a higher close on Wall Street. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 0.43% or 117.39 points at 27,731.82, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.29% or 43.21 points at 15,197.82, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted rose 0.29% or 25.83 points at 8,790.65, Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.44% or 15.01 points at 3,455.97 and South Korea's Seoul Composite was flat at 1,925.39.

A positive openeing is expected for the market, says an NDTV Profit Poll. The Nifty may breach its previous high today. It is expected to trade in the range 5875-5970. Stocks to watch today are Exide Industries, Bajaj Auto and SBI.

The market opened higher on Monday, despite slightly weak global cues. The Sensex is currently trading at 19,922, up 223 points from the previous close. Nifty is at 5957, up 51 points.

Sugar is a good space if you are looking at investing, says Vijay Bhambwani, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. If you have 3-4 quarters' perspective, then Bajaj Hindusthan and Balrampur Chini are good picks, he adds. As long as Bajaj Hindusthan sustains above Rs 200 and Balrampur Chini above Rs 90-92, momentum will continue in these counters, he adds.