Sensex on the backfoot, Nifty steps below 9,600

Mumbai: The Sensex washed out initial gains and the NSE dropped below 9,600 in the late morning trade today on account of selling pressure, mainly in the metal counter.

The 30-share gauge resumed higher before dropping to 31,079 at 1209 hours, down 24.49 points, or 0.08 per cent. The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved down by 14 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,592.90 at 1209 hours.

Major gainers were RIL (2.60 per cent), followed by Dr Reddy's Lab, Hero MotoCorp, PowerGrid and TCS. However, Wipro fell and so did Asian Paints Cipla and ITC.

Foreign funds sold shares net Rs 312.40 crore yesterday as per provisional figures. Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower in their morning trade as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's policy move today.

In the US, Dow and S&P 500 closed at record yesterday as technology shares rebounded following a two-day decline.