Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex slipped from early gains to quote lower by 32.79 points in late morning deals on selling of metal, telecom, healthCare, FMCG, Oil & gas sectors amid a mixed Asian trend.
Volatility returned to the markets as investors resorted to short selling, awaiting a definite direction from the US Fed rate hike. The Sensex opened higher at 26,548.67 and hovered between 26,594.55 and 26,479.67. It was quoting at 26,486.28 at 1100 hours -- a loss of 32.79 points -- or 0.12 per cent.
The NSE 50-share Nifty was also down by 16.55 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 8,137.05 at 1100 hours. Major losers were ONGC 2.18 per cent, Adani Ports 1.39 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.37 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.13 per cent and Hero MotoCorp 1.11 per cent.
Meanwhile, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 611.97 crore yesterday, as per the provisional data. Overseas, the Asian markets witnessed a mixed trend.
A surge in banks and other financial stocks poised to benefit from higher interest rates led the US indexes towards a record territory yesterday.
