Sensex up 40 points in late morning

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 112 points in late morning trade, lifted by buying IT, Teck and FMCG counters amid mixed Asian cues.

Caution crept in ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts for February series in the midst of multi-billion rupee fraud of PNB impacting the trading momentum.Selling was seen in metal, healthcare, basic material, Oil&Gas, banks and auto and industrial sectors.

The BSE Sensex trading up 112.19 points or 0.33 per cent at 33,815.78 at 1150hrs.

The broader Nifty 50 index quoted at 10,385.10, up by 24.70 points or 0.24 per cent with 27 of its constituents trading in the positive.

Major gainers were TCS 1.74 per cent, Dr Reddy 1.36 per cent, ITC 1.18 per cent, Kotak Bank 1.14 per cent, Infy 1.08 per cent and Reliance 0.66 per



cent.

Notable losers include Sunpharma 7.11 per cent, Tata Steel 1.83 per cent, Tata Motors 1.45 per cent, Coal India 1.05 per cent and M&M 0.95 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 850.35 crore on net basis, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 1,437.24 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note. Chinese markets will reopen tomorrow after holidays. Japanese manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in February as growth of new export orders slowed due to the yen's appreciation.

US stocks snapped a six-day winning streak yesterday, with the Dow and S&P 500 weighed down by a steep loss for Walmart as investors also watched climbing bond yields.