Sensex extends gains; up 220 pts in late morning trade

Market benchmark Sensex gained momentum in late morning deals and was trending up by 219.73 points on value-buying recently battered stocks of banks, auto capital goods, power, realty, and Teck sectors.
Firm Asian cues coupled with hectic short-covering also supported the momentum.
The BSE Sensex opened higher at 24,257.28 and hovered in a range of 24,408.10 to 24,247.23 before quoting 24,408.10 at 1100 hours, up 219.73 points or 0.91 per cent.
The NSE Nifty was also trading higher 62.95 points or 0.86 per cent to 7,413.95.
Major gainers were Axis Bank up 3.60 per cent, ICICI Bank 3.28 per cent, SBI 1.99 per cent, Tata Motors 1.95 per cent, Infosys 1.77 per cent, NTPC 1.75 per cent and RIL 1.73 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 1,203.84 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
In overseas, Asian market trading higher led by Chinese GDP figures were mostly in line with expectations. China's economy grew 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, data released today showed, easing from 6.9% in the third quarter. It is the weakest pace of expansion since the first quarter of 2009.
The US markets were closed yesterday for Martin Luther King Day holiday.