New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS): BSE Sensex is up more than 500 points in afternoon trade on Tuesday led by private sector banks.

Sensex is trading at 71,591.27 points, up by 518.78 points or 0.73 per cent.

Private sector banks are leading the Sensex gains with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank up by more than 2 per cent.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Wipro are up by more than 1 per cent. The laggards include M&M, Ultratech Cement down by 1 per cent.

Railway stocks are up with IRFC up by 11 per cent, RVNL up by 7 per cent, IRCON is up 7 per cent.

An important ongoing trend in the market is the weakness in the broader market with sharp cuts in many mid and small caps, says V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Many such stocks driven up by speculative buying without consideration for the fundamentals are correcting. This trend is likely to continue since many such stocks are excessively valued, he said.

The explosive growth in the number of demat accounts and the newbies chasing mid and small-caps influenced by recency bias have contributed to this froth in the broader market. A correction in this segment is inevitable and desirable, he added.