Sensex pares early gains, turns choppy

The benchmark BSE Sensex trimmed early gains and turned choppy to trade flat amid volatility ahead of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) numbers to be released later today.

Buying was seen in realty, telecom, capital goods, consumer durables, metal, IT and energy counters.Banking, utilities and power stocks saw most selling activity.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 6 points, or 0.02 per cent, lower at 34,294.19 at 1200 hrs.

Meanwhile, the broader Nifty was trading at 10,545.20, up 5.45 points, or 0.15 per cent.

Major gainers were Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Adani Ports, Coal India and Reliance, rising up to 3 per



cent.

Losers include SBI, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Yes Bank, losing up to 2 per cent.

Punjab National Bank, which reported fraud of USD 1.17 billion at one of its branches, dropped over 7 per cent in morning trade.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 814.11 crore on net basis, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 1,342.70 crore on Monday, provisional data showed.

Most Asian stocks gained inched higher on positive cues from Wall Street, which rose for the third consecutive day in the last session.