Indian markets were taking a breather on Thursday after a sharp rally in previous session. Subdued global markets and long weekend ahead also weighed sentiments.

Weve come a long way in a year. The journey from the brink of Great Depression has been spectacular. The moot point is where do we go from here?

The real test will be when the stimulus is reversed. Inflation could be another party pooper. Valuations are definitely not cheap, though historic peak is still some way away. The question is whether one should wait for that long to realise ones folly.

We expect a soft opening as world markets are not particularly gung-ho. A long weekend is ahead of us before earnings start to roll in. There might be some consolidation and any fall is not likely to be too big, said India Infoline report.

At 11:15 am, National Stock Exchanges Nifty was at 5085.25, up 1.3 points or 0.03 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 5110.50 and low of 5057.05.

Bombay Stock Exchanges Sensex was at 17161.91, up 35.07 points or 0.20 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 17195.61 and low of 17070.97.

Markets are in an overstretched stage but the under current is very well-built. The momentum is strong and one should participate along with the trend. We dont see any kind of weakness prevailing in the market as they are well positioned above their strong support levels of 4,900/16,500. Unless we see a break below this level this uptrend is safe and every fall is a buying opportunity, said the Nirmal Bang report.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.36 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.27 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 1.56 per cent, BSE Bankex gained 0.88 per cent and BSE Realty moved 0.63 per cent higher.

Bharti Airtel (6.01%), AXIS Bank (2.83%), TCS (2.79%), Punjab National Bank (2.18%) and ACC (2.10%) were amongst the Nifty gainers.

Maruti (-2.47%), BPCL (-2.29%), HDFC (-1.85%), Tata Power (-1.82%) and NTPC 213.50 214.50 210.00 210.15 (-1.68%) were amongst the losers.

Bharti Airtels talks with South Africas largest telco MTN were called off after the South African government refused to soften its stance on the proposed deal structure.

Maruti Suzuki India reported sales of 83,306 units a jump of 17.3 per cent for the month of September. The company sold 71,594 units in the domestic market an increase of 10.7 per cent year-on-year.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1337 declines and 1074 advances.

Elsewhere, the US stocks fell Wednesday after a surprising contraction in an index of Midwest business activity, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems Inc at the end of a strong quarter limited losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 29.92 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 9,712.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.53 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,057.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.62 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,122.42.

Stocks across Asia declined following Wall Street cues after a surprise drop in manufacturing in the US cast doubts on the strength of a global recovery, while the dollar was on the back foot against higher-yielding currencies.

The Nikkei lost 1.62 per cent, Straits Times shed 0.65 per cent and Kospi slid 1.81 per cent. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were shut for China's National Day holidays.