Mumbai, Feb 10 (Inditop.com) A benchmark index of Indian equities Wednesday gave up its early morning gains and was 70 points in the red about 45 minutes into trade.

At 9.46 a.m., the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,042.18 points, was at 15,969.95 points, down 72.23 points or 0.45 percent from its previous close.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was at 4,772.1 points against the previous close at 4,792.65 points, a loss of 0.43 percent or 20.55 points.

Broader markets were, however still in the green, with the BSE midcap index up 0.4 percent and the BSE small cap index trading 0.54 percent higher.

Metal and realty stocks saw buying interest, while banking, power and telecom scrips were under selling pressure.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,267 stocks advancing, 761 on the decline and 69 remaining unchanged.