Equities slip into the red(Lead)

Mumbai, April 30 (IANS) The Indian equities market slipped into the red early Wednesday afternoon due to selling pressure on banking, realty and oil and gas sector stocks. The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, had opened on a positive note. But at 1.00 p.m., it was down 77.31 points or 0.44 percentt to 17,301.15. The Sensex had hit a high of 17,480.74 in early trade before going to a low of 17,284.62 points. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down by 17.15 points or 0.33 percent at 5,178.35.