Markets pare gains from all-time highs; Nifty Realty index down 5%

The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices also hit their respective all-time highs

The benchmark indices on Wednesday pared gains after hitting their fresh lifetime highs after Asian markets inched closer to their two-year high, while on Wall Street Nasdaq Composite hit a record high. Back home, a string of solid quarterly results also boosted the sentiment. 

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied as much as 203 points to 30,146, surpassing its previous all-time high level of 30,024 hit on March 04, 2015. The broader Nifty50 rose 57 points to 9,364 to hit its fresh high for second day in a row.

At 2:42 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 29,988, up 45 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,309, up 3 points. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices were down 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On BSE, 829 shares rose and 2,011 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged. The market breadth was strong in morning trade.

Meanwhile, the rupee strengthened to as much as 63.93 per dollar, its highest since August 2015, compared to its close of 64.2650 on Tuesday.

Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC and ITC were the top gainers on Sensex, while Infosys, Wipro and Cipla shed the most.  

Among sectors, Nifty FMCG (up 1.6%) was the top mover, led by gains in Brittania, Tata Global and ITC, which gained anywhere between 2-3%.  

Wipro pared morning gains to shed nearly 1%. The stock gained 4% in the early trade after the company announced issue of bonus shares in the proportion of 1:1, that is 1 bonus shares for every 1 shares held in the company.

Among individual stocks, Nucleus Software Exports hit 52-week high of Rs 330, up 16% after the company said its board has approved buyback of shares at a price not exceeding Rs 350 per share via tender offer.

Shares of Reliance Capital gained over 2% after its subsidiary Reliance Home Finance reported nearly twofold rise in net profit at Rs 173 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2017 against Rs 87 crore a year ago. 

Allcargo Logistics rallied 10% to Rs 198.30 after nearly 15% of total equity of the company exchanged hands via block deal on the counter.

Overseas, Asian markets traded higher following the rise in US stocks on the back of strong earnings announcements and on expectations for US President Donald Trump's impending tax reforms. In the US, stocks soared as McDonald's and Caterpillar reported strong earnings, with the Nasdaq surpassing the 6,000 mark for the first time.