Sensex sinks 104 points in early trade on weak global cues

Market benchmark BSE Sensex fell for a third session in a row as it slumped by about 104 points in early trade on capital outflows by foreign funds and selling by retail investors amid weak global cues. In addition, weakness in the rupee against the American currency too weighed on the sentiment.

The rupee weakened by 21 paise to 66.63 against the dollar in early trade at the forex market. The 30-share Sensex dropped by 103.74 points, or 0.41 per cent, to trade at 25,125.96 in early trade.

Stocks of metal, infrastructure, auto, consumer durables, technology and banking were trading in the negative zone with losses up to 0.90 per cent. The gauge had lost 376.92 points in the previous two sessions.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty fell by 23.60 points, or 0.30 per cent to 7,723.40. Big losers that dragged down the indices were Adani Ports, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Lupin, Wipro, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and TCS.

Brokers said sentiment remained weak as participants indulged in cutting their bets, tracking a falling trend in global markets as weak Chinese manufacturing data and a downgrade in the eurozone growth forecast revived worries about slowing growth.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.16 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite index shed 0.15 per cent in early trade today. Japanese financial markets are closed for a public holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.78 per cent lower yesterday.