The Sensex opened 46 points higher at 9,023, and touched a high of 9,087 in early trades. The index, however, has pared gains and slipped into red to a low of 8,967. The index thereafter has remained sideways and is now up 14 points at 8,991.
The BSE Realty index has gained 2% at 1,614, and the IT index has advanced 1.5% to 2,218. The FMCG index, however, has slipped 1% to 1,904.
TCS, Sterlite and Maruti have rallied nearly 2% each to Rs 516, Rs 307 and Rs 730, respectively.
Jaiprakash Associates, Infosys, HDFC, Sun Pharma and Wipro have gained around 1.5% each at Rs 80, Rs 1,297, Rs 1,374, Rs 1,012 and Rs 234, respectively.
Hindustan Unilever has plunged nearly 3% to Rs 226. BHEL has shed 2% at Rs 1,430.
Hindalco and Tata Motors have slipped around 1.5% each to Rs 44 and Rs 174, respectively.
The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 2,123 stocks traded so far, 1,259 have advanced, 776 have declined and the rest are unchanged.