Sensex retreats from record high, down 106 pts

Retreating from its lifetime high, the BSE Sensex dropped 106 points in opening trade on Friday on profit-booking in recent gainers amid a weak trend at other Asian markets.

The 30-share barometer fell by 106.02 points or 0.27 per cent to 37,918.35, with banking, PSU, metal, realty and FMCG stocks falling up to 0.30 per cent.

The gauge had gained 358.57 points in the previous two sessions.

Brokers said apart from profit-booking at record levels, a weak trend at other Asian markets following overnight losses on Wall Street dented the trading sentiment.

The wider NSE Nifty too receded from its record level and slipped 29.05 points, or 0.25 per cent to 11,441.65.

SBI, Coal India, HDFC, Sun Pharma, RIL, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Wipro and Bajaj Auto were trading in the negative zone, falling up to 1.53 per cent.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 85.39 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 370.68 crore on Thursday, provisional data showed.

Asian stocks slipped as investors assessed the impact of the latest tit-for-tat in the US-China trade war.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.40 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.53 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.15 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.29 per cent lower on Thursday’s trade.