Sensex drops by 109 points

The benchmark BSE Sensex washed off initial gains in a volatile trade to drop by 109 points in late morning, following selling in IT, teck, oil refinery and auto sectors.

The benchmark BSE Sensex washed off initial gains in a volatile trade to drop by 109 points in late morning, following selling in IT, teck, oil refinery and auto sectors, despite positive global cues.

Wary participants turned cautious ahead of Q4 results of IT bellwether, Infosys, to be announced tomorrow.

The 30-share index resumed higher at 27,977.27 and hovered in a range of 28,087.78 to 27,753.70 before quoting 27,781.52 at 1100 hrs, showing a fall of 108.61 points or 0.39 per cent from its last close.

The 50-share NSE Nifty was also quoting lower by 23.50 points or 0.28 per cent to 8,406.20 at 1100 hrs.

Major losers led by M&M with 2.07 per cent fall, Sun Pharma by 1.26 per cent, NTPC 0.95 per cent, Wipro 0.87 per cent and Infosys 0.85 per cent.

Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors sold shares worth Rs 910.15 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought shares worth Rs 217.98 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Asian shares were higher in early trade. Key indices in China, Hong Kong,Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up between 0.21 per cent and 1.97 per cent.

In New York market, the US stocks closed higher yesterday as better-than-expected earnings and an upbeat report on existing-homes sales fuelled investor confidence.