From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 03:07 PM IST

The Indian equities markets, which opened in the positive zone Tuesday, were trading flat in the afternoon. However, consumer durables, realty and metals scrips continued to be in demand.

At 1.30 p.m., the 30-share sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, was up 115.24 points or 0.68 percent to 16,976.14.

The Sensex hit a high of 17,085.63 in early trade. At the day's low, it touched 16,930.47 points.

At the same time the broader based S and amp;P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange remained above the 5,000-point mark. It was up by 9.45 points or 0.1 percent at 5,018.05.

The market breadth was positive with low trading volumes on BSE. While 1,811 shares advanced, 805 declined and 69 remained unchanged.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)