Sensex reverses gains, down by 9 points in late morning trade

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex trimmed initial gains and fell by 9 points in late morning trade, dragged down by FMCG sectors, while fresh selling was seen in IT, consumer durables, teck and refineries sectors. However, buying interest after a fall in previous three sessions was seen in banks, pharma and metal sectors support the index initially.

Industrial production (IIP) numbers for May are slated to be released later in the day. The 30-share barometer resumed higher at 27,705.36 and hovered in a range of 27,729.46 and 27,530.90 before quoting 27,564.88 at 1100 hrs, a marginal fall of 8.78 pts or 0.03 per cent from its last close. The 50-share Nifty also eased by 4.55 points or 0.05 per cent to 8,324 at 1100 hrs.

Major losers were, HUL (2.91 per cent), Bharti Airtel (2.22 per cent), NTPC (1.64 per cent), TCS (1.39 per cent), GAIL (1.37 per cent), Bajaj Auto (1.17 per cent), ONCG (1.15 per cent) and Lupin (1.06 per cent). Vedanta rose by 2.16 per cent, followed by coal India 1.50 per cent, Tata Motors 1.24 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.15 per cent and ICICI Bank 0.87 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 254.10 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Asian stocks edged higher as Chinese equities rebounded for the second day as Greece submitted a bailout plan, easing concern that the two countries' crises could infect global markets. Key benchmark indices in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea rose by 0.10 per cent to 5.16 per cent.