Realty was the worst performer as it lost nearly 4 per

cent. Unitech crashed 18 per cent after CBI removed a public prosecutor from the 2G spectrum case to verify his alleged discussions on prosecution strategy with the realty firm's MD. Despite recovery in Sensex, the broader market was still under pressure as second-line stocks were at the receiving end with their indices BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap falling by 0.31 pct and 0.51 pct, respectively, underperforming the Sensex. All eyes are now set on the announcement of the data for wholesale price index (WPI) on Thursday, which stood at 7.18 pct in December 2012, much higher than the RBI's comfort level of 5-6 per cent. FICCI President Naina Lal Kidwai said the data has "dimmed hope" for a recovery in manufacturing in the near future and it is a cause for serious concern. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 995.83 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. In the Asian region, the Nikkei rose by 1.94 per cent as Japanese shares jumped after the country's Economics Minister said share prices are too cheap and the yen hitting fresh multi-year lows while South Korea's Kospi eased by 0.26 per cent. Major gainers from the Sensex pack were ONGC (3.81 pct), Sun Pharma (2.84 pct), Tata Motors (2.65 pct), Coal India (1.85 pct), Bharti Airtel (1.79 pct), Bajaj Auto (1.51 pct), HDFC Bank (1.39 pct) and RIL (0.94 pct). However, Jindal Steel dropped by 3.35 pct, Sterlite Ind 1.31 pct, Infosys 1.29 pct and Tata Power 0.77 pct. Among the sectoral indices, the BSE-Oil & Gas rose by 1.52 pct, BSE-HC 1.19 pct, BSE-PSU 1.15 pct, BSE-Auto 0.94 pct and the Bankex 0.63 pct, however, the BSE-Realty dropped by 3.90 pct and the BSE-IT 0.63 pct. The market breadth continued to show negative trend as 1,289 scrips ended lower, while 864 stocks ended higher and 785 ruled steady. The total tunrover dropped to Rs 1,971.57 crore from Rs 2,140.33 crore yesterday.