Sensex down 38 pts, Nifty below 10,400 in late morning deals

The BSE Sensex was down 37.61 points in late morning deals on profit-booking in oil & gas, bank, financial, energy, FMCG and utilities sectors despite higher Asian cues.

Investors are focussing on key domestic cues of retail inflation data and industrial production data due tomorrow and corporate results starting Friday.

IT, tech, metal and telecom sectors saw buying interest.

The 30-share index was trading at 33,842.64 at 1040hrs, showing a loss of 37.61 points, or 0.11 per cent.

The broader Nifty-50 index was also trading down by 29.55 points or 0.28 per cent at 10,372.70.

Major laggards were Adani Ports, down 2.26 per cent, SBI 2.07 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.82 per cent, Axis Bank 1.40 per cent, Yes Bank 1.27 per cent and Dr Reddy's 0.71 per cent.

Gainers include ONGC, up 1.47 per cent, TCS 1.31 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.08 per cent and Reliance 0.89 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 684.99 crore on net basis, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 653.65 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Most Asian shares rose as investor sentiment improved after China's President Xi Jinping helped ease fears over a US-China trade row.

US stocks surged yesterday, thanks to a less-aggressive stance on trade taken by the Chinese president, whose conciliatory comments on tariffs sent prices of risky assets such as global equities and commodities higher.