Sensex extends losses, down 176 points in late morning trade

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex extended losses in the late morning deals and was trading lower by 176 points following sustained selling in consumer durables, banking, IT, auto, FMCG, teck and telecom sectors. Sensex resumed higher at 24,998.79 and moved in a range of 25,013.13 to 24,648.21 before quoting at 24,724.70 at 1045 hrs, showing a loss of 175.93 points or 0.71 per cent.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also fell by 46.55 points or 0.61 per cent to quote 7,567.80. Major lossers were, Maruti 3.19 per cent, HDFC 2.91 per cent, Infosys 1.59 per cent, ITC 1.50 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.24 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.12 per cent, Adani Ports 1.05 per cent, SBI 1.03 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.03 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.96 per cent and Larsen 0.86 per cent.

However, Lupin rose by 1.88 per cent, BHEL 1.84 per cent, Dr Reddy's 1.60 per cent, Cipla 1.24 per cent and Coal India 1.21 per cent. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 493.56 crs yesterday, as per provisional data.

In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks were mixed. US stocks ended higher as oil futures notched their biggest one-day gain in three weeks, driven by an unexpected drop in crude-oil inventories. Stocks remained higher after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed most policy makers supporting a cautious approach to raising interest rates.