Markets pare gains, Realty index slips 1%

The Sensex touched a high of 18,578 in mid-morning trades, and has since pared most of its gains owing to weakness in auto and realty shares. The index is now up 17 points at 18,524.

The NSE Nifty has added four points to 5,571.

Among the index stocks - NTPC and Sterlite have gained 1% each. TCS, Infosys and Bharti Airtel are the notable gainers in the Sensex 30 stocks.

The BSE realty index has declined 1% to 2,184, and the auto index has shed 0.7% at 8,841.

Prominent losers among the realty stocks are HDIL and Indiabulls Realestate down 2% each. DLF, Phoenix Mills, Sobha Developers and Unitech are down around 1% each.

In the auto space, Tata Motors has shed 2.5% at Rs 992 on going ex-dividend today. Meanwhile, Ashok Leyland too has declined nearly 2% to Rs 51. Hero Honda and Maruti have slipped 1% each.

In the broader markets, Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Finserv, Godrej Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra Finance, Jubilant Foodworks, Marico, Titan and Exide have rallied 2-3% each.

Sun TV Network, Power Finance, JSW Energy, REC, Glenmark Pharma, Indiabulls Realestate and Jindal Saw are the major losers, down over 2% each.

The market breadth is positive, with 1,370 stocks advancing as against 1,050 declining shares on the BSE.