Markets make a subdued opening on back of no clear direction from the Asian markets. The Sensex rises 23 points to 19,545 and the Nifty gains 9 points to 5872.

Technical analysts expect the market to trade side ways in the coming days. "The market is still weak but may trade in sideways mode in the  days to come  and the crucial support to watch is 5750," said Prakash Gaba. "Markets are expected to bounce; near term bottom looks visible on charts (5690); on higher side level of 5977 would attract profit booking, traders strategy would be buy at dips," reckoned Ravi Nathani.

Asian markets are dragged down by losses in resource and property developers. Overnight fall in Wall Street, geopolitical concerns from Korean peninsula and further monetary tightening in China are weighing on the sentiment. Hang Seng has dipped 0.6% and Shanghai Composite has lost 0.3%.

China's November PMI rises to 55.2 in November from 54.7 in October, according data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, however the data fails to the cheer the markets. The Nikkei 225 is trading flat, and Strait Times has dropped 0.2%. However Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted buck trend and are trading in the green, up 0.4% and 1.2% each.

FMCG Stocks are dragging the markets down; Nestle India (down 1.1%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.8%) are putting pressure on FMCG space.

Metal stocks were shinning in the morning session, Hindalco Industries (up 3.5%), Tata Steel (up 2.2%), and JSW Steel (up 3.5%) are pulling  the metal index higher.

Top losers on the Sensex are Bharti Airtel (down 2.1%), Wipro (down 1.2%) and DLF (down 0.8%). Gainers are Jindal Steel (up 1.8%), Tata Motor (up 1.5%) and ONGC (down 1.4%).

Stocks in focus are Reliance Industries, the share is trading flat after reports that gas output from eastern offshore fields drop 15%, Sun Pharma rise 0.7% after it received USFDA nod for generic Alzheimer's drug and Siemens gains 1.6% after it announced investment plans worth Rs 1,600 cr in India over three years. State Bank of India (SBI) is also on the buzzer, up 1% after it said it is considering setting up a separate company for its private banking initiative.

From the broader markets, midcap and smallcap index are trading higher by over 1% each.