Sensex begins 2018 on negative note, down 18 points

Stock markets opened on a subdued note on the first trading day of 2018, with the benchmark BSE Sensex declining over 18 points in early trade on profit- booking after recent gains.

The 30-share index, which had gained 208.80 points in the previous session, fell 18.19 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 34,038.64 in early trade on Monday.

Technology, power and metal stocks were leading the fall in early trade.

Major losers were Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, NTPC, HDFC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto, falling up to 0.88 per cent.

However, L&T, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ITC Ltd, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys and Asian Paint were trading in the positive zone.

The broad-based NSE Nifty was down 12.70 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 10,518.

Traders said profit-booking emerged in stocks that logged gains recently in absence of cues from other Asian markets that were closed for public holiday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.48 per cent down on the final day of 2017 on Friday.