Sensex pares early gains, slips 50 points in late morning

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex failed to hold onto early gains and slipped by 50 points in late morning deals to fell deeper into 19-month lows on fresh selling in power, capital goods, realty and metal stocks.

The BSE Sensex opened sharply higher at 24,804.64 and moved in a range 24,909.22 to 24,514.72 before quoting 24,631.61 at 1115 hours, down 50.42 points or 0.20 percent. The 50-share Nifty also moved down by 26.20 points or 0.35 percent to 7,484.10 at 1115 hours.

Major losers were, TCS (2.65 pc) followed by Adani Ports (2.20 pc), Larsen (1.88 pc), Lupin (1.18 pc), ICICI Bank (1.58 pc) and Axis Bank (1.50 pc) and Wipro (1.31 pc). However, M&M rose by 1.45 percent followed by Tata Motors 1.44 percent, Infosys 1.28 percent, Bharti Airtel 1.09 per cent and Reliance 1.04 percent.

Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 540.99 crs yesterday, as per provisional data.

In overseas markets, Asian shares rallied, after Chinese data trade data beat expectations, offering a rare hope for the global economy. US stocks ended higher yesterday, led by gains in technology and healthcare, while oil market continues to dominate investor sentiment.