Sensex fails to maintain initial gains, drops 102 pts

 The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex failed to maintain initial gains and dropped 102 points in late morning trade today.

This was due to fresh selling pressure from operators mainly in refinery, power, banking and consumer durable sectors on the back of lower global cues.

The 30-share barometer Sensex resumed higher at 20,478.67 points and firmed up further to 20,503.86 on initial buying in select counters amid fresh foreign capital inflows.

However, it declined immediately to 20,346.97 at 1030 hours due to fresh selling, showing a loss of 101.52 points or 0.50 per cent from its last close.

The NSE 50-share index Nifty also declined by 29.10 points or 0.48 per cent to 6,054.90 at 1030 hours.

Major losers were - Cipla 5.40 pct, Coal India 2.02 pct, ONGC 1.52 pct, HDFC 1.47 pct, Tata Power 1.46 pct, BHEL 1.30 pct, Wipro 1.17 pct, SBI 1.08 pct and HDFC Bank 1.05 pct.Asian stocks dropped in their early trade after the recent advances.

Key benchmark indices in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan fell by 0.06-0.98 per cent while indices in Singapore and China were up by 0.08-0.36 per cent.