Sensex erases initial gains; down 29 pts

The Sensex resumed higher at 16,887.84 and moved between 16,899.77 and 16,800.35. It was quoting at 16,817.10 at 1030hrs, down 28.95 points or 0.17 per cent from yesterday's close.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved down by 11.05 points or 0.22 per cent to 5,098.55 at 1030hrs.

Marketmen said the stocks may remain volatile today in view of the settlement in this month's derivative contracts.

Major losers were Coal India (1.21 pc), Tata Motors (1.06 pc), Tata power (1.04 pc) and Wipro (0.93 pc). However, Jindal Steel was up 1.92 per cent, Sun Pharma (1.39 pc), Bajaj Auto (1.30 pc), Maruti Suzuki (1.29 pc), Cipla (1.02 pc) and ITC (0.77 pc) on good buying support from investors.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 372.21 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

Asian shares was trading steady early after bouncing from recent lows. Key indices in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan rose by up to 0.5 per cent.