Sensex erases initial gains on selling; still up 21 pts

The BSE 30-share index, Sensex, resumed strong at 19,728.02 and fluctuated between 19,783.75 and 19,687.87.

It quoted 19,687.87 at 1030 hrs, up by 21.28 points, 0.11 per cent from its previous close.

The NSE 50-stock index Nifty was up by a mere one point, or 0.02 per cent, at 5,972.50 at 1030 hrs.

Major gainers were - Tata Motors (2.59 per cent), ONGC (2.04 per cent), Coal India (1.48 per cent), Wipro (1.37 per cent) and Gail India (1.12 per cent).

Major losers were BHEL (1.81 per cent), (ICICI Bank (1.42 per cent), L&T (1.14 per cent) and TCS (0.96 per cent).

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 848.95 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Asian stocks were trading positive in early trade, with key indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan trading 0.36-1.03 per cent on better than expected Chinese economic data.