From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 02:32 PM IST

The Indian equities markets which opened with a positive gap Friday stayed in the green early afternoon despite rise in inflation figures. Inflation stood at 8.1 percent for the week ended May 17, compared to 7.82 percent the previous week.

At 12:30 p.m. the 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, was trading at 16,453.69 with a gain of 137.43 points from Thursday's close. It touched a high of 16,540.49 and a low of 16,344.48 points earlier Friday.

At the same time, the S and amp;P Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 4,876.20 points with a gain of 40.90 compared to its previous close.

However, the market breadth turned negative. On BSE, 1,139 stocks advanced, 1,309 declined and 90 remained unchanged.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)