Sensex near day's high; realty index up 2%

Buying in the metal and realty stocks have helped the index to soar to a high of 17,329. The index is now at 17,324, up 156 points. The NSE Nifty is at 5,166, up 43 points.

Hindalco has advanced 3% to Rs 147. Grasim Industies , ACC and Reliance Communications have gained 2% each at Rs 2,446, Rs 817 and Rs 179, respectively.

Wipro and Sterlite have also moved up around 2% each at Rs 647 and Rs 894, respectively.

Reliance Infrastructure, Maruti, DLF and Bharti Airtel have added over 1.5% each.

Tata Motors is the major loser on the Sensex, down 1.5% at Rs 718.

The market breadth is positive, out of 2,385 shares traded, 1,742 have advanced and 576 have declined so far on the BSE.

The BSE Realty and the metal indices lead the rally, up 1.5% each at 4,023 and 16,872, respectively.