Sensex up 123 points, Nifty above 10,600 in late morning trade

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex pared its initial gains but was still trading higher by 123 points in late morning deals amid buying in energy, telecom, IT, finance and consumer durables sectors on the back of higher Asian cues.

Bouts of short-covering lifted the key indices in view May derivatives expiry on Thursday, while investors awaited GDP data to be released later in the day. Healthcare, metal, power and industrial counters witnessed profit-booking.

The 30-share index was trading higher at 35,029.53, showing a gain of 123.42 points, or 0.35 per cent at 1055 hrs. The broader Nifty-50 index too was trading above the key 10,600-level at 10,649.50, up 35.15 points, or 0.33 per cent. Major gainers were ONGC 3.16 per cent, HDFC Bank 2.10 per cent, Infosys 1.16 per cent, M&M 1.05 per cent and Coal India 0.94 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,286.91 crore on net basis, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 492.46 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Overseas, Asian markets rose as political turmoil in Italy that had roiled global financial markets showed signs of easing. US stocks rebounded yesterday as investors judged the market reaction to Italy's political turmoil as overwrought.