The Sensex is at 16,802, higher by 71 points and the Nifty is at 5,047, up 12 points.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Updated at 1308hrs)
The markets slipped into the red on back of selling in the rate-sensitive and broader market space. The Sensex was at 16,723, down 8 points and the Nifty had shed 5 points at 5,030.
The Sensex had touched a high of 17,000 earlier in the day.
DLF, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Hindalco and Mahindra and Mahindra were among the top losers. At the same time, Sun Pharma was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 2.4% to Rs 485. It was followed by Coal India, TCS, HDFC, ONGC, ITC and Hero Motocorp.
The broader markets were trading in the red. The BSE mid-cap index had shed 58 points or nearly 1% to 6,339 and the small-cap index was at 7,378, lower by 83 points.
Among the mid-cap stocks BF Utilities was the top loser. The stock shed 12% to Rs 460. Anant Raj Industries, JM Financial, Jet Airways, Spicejet, Graphite India, Indiabulls Real Estate and Hathway Cables were also trading lower by 5-8% each. Clarus Finance, Den Networks, Kasturi Global, ICSA India and Allied digital were losers among the small-cap stocks.
Rate sensitive sectors reeled under the selling pressure. BSE Realty index was the top loser on thew charts. the index declined nearly 5% or 80 points to 1,630. Among the realty stocks Anant Raj Industries was the top loser, down 8.3% to Rs 54. DLF shed 7.5% to Rs 175 after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 630 crore for abusing of market dominance and unfair trade practices. Indiabulls Rea Estate,. Prestige Estates, Unitech, HDIL, Sobha Developers and Sunteck Realty also shed 2.3-5% each in trades thus far.
Auto and BSE banking index- Bankex also shed 1.8% and 1.5% each respectively. Power, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables PSU and Metal indices were also in the negative territory.
On the other hand, IT stocks continued to attract buying. The BSE IT index gained 1% or 57 points at 5,107. BSE FMCG index added 44 points to 3,961. Meanwhile, TCS was the top gainer among the IT stocks, up 2% to Rs 993. Infosys, Wipro, Core Projects and HCL Tech were also among the gainers. Oil & Gas and healthcare indices were also among the gainers on the sectoral charts.
Overall breadth was extremely negative as 1,900 stocks declined while 709 stocks advanced.
