Among the shares that gained in early trade were Sun Pharma and Maruti Suzuki, which were up more than 1% in trade. ONGC gained almost 4% following a spectacular set of results by the company, while Maruti Suzuki rose on reports that the Manesar plant opening decision would be taken today.

Deccan Chronicle continued to lose ground. The company's shares were down another 4% today. Following reports that the promoters had pledged shares with the a bank. Reliance Communications was up marginally after its profits rose in the first quarter of 2012-2013.

Shares that lost ground in early trade were Siemens, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel and Tata Motors.

Markets are expected to trade in a range today and would await cues from Europe, later in the day. This week the markets would also eye key inflation numbers, which are due on Tuesday.

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