Markets sedate, realty stocks rally

The Sensex, so far, has moved in an extremely narrow band of 125 points, a high of 18,580 and a low of 18,455. The BSE benchmark index is now up 24 points at 18,536.

The NSE Nifty has advanced nine points to 5,550.

Hero Honda has surged neraly 4% to Rs 1,784, and DLF has rallied 2.5% to Rs 227.

Sterlite, SBI, Infosys, Tata Motors and Jindal Steel are the other major gainers.

On the other hand, NTPC has shed 2% at Rs 177. Tata Power and Maruti have also declined nearly 2% each to Rs 1,224 and Rs 1,220, respectively.

ONGC and ICICI Bank are the other notable losers.

The market breadth, however, remains positive - out of 2,724 stocks traded, 1,434 stocks advanced, 1,146 stocks declined and 144 were unchanged.

The BSE Realty index has gained 1% at 2,136. DB Realty has surged 3.5% to Rs 88. HDIL has rallies over 3% to Rs 151, and DLF has added 2.5% to Rs 227. Peninsula Land has moved up nearly 2% to Rs 53.