Mumbai, Dec 29 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities was trading almost half percent down in choppy trade Thursday afternoon due to selling pressure in oil and gas and realty stocks.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was trading 0.41 percent or 63.99 points down at 15,663.86 points at around 1 p.m.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was ruling 0.56 percent down at 4,679.65 points.

The broader markets as well as most sectoral indices were also in the red. The BSE midcap index was down 0.13 percent and the smallcap index was trading 0.36 percent lower.

Among the sectoral indices, the BSE oil and gas index was down 1.26 percent and the realty index was down 1 percent.

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