Sensex down 17 points in late morning trade

Mumbai: Erasing early gains, the BSE benchmark Sensex lost 17 points in the late morning trade due to selling in FMCG, capital goods, refinery and technology sector stocks despite sustained foreign capital inflows.

The 30-share index resumed higher at 19,517.59 and firmed up further to 19,543.44 on fresh buying from operators on the back of foreign capital inflows.

However, it declined afterwards to 19,450.47 on profit- booking before quoting at 19,468.20 at 1030hrs, showing a loss of 16.57 points, or 0.09 percent, from its last weekend's close.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved down by 9.20 points or 0.16 percent to 5,894.30 at 1030 hours.

Major losers were ITC (1.52 percent), Bharti Airtel (1.20 percent), Hero Motocorp (1.01 percent), ONGC (0.99 percent) and HDFC (0.90 percent).

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth net Rs 1,490.82 crore on last Friday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

In Asia, stock markets in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia were all closed Monday for the Lunar New Year, while Japan market was closed for National Foundation Day.

PTI