Sensex down 49 points in early trade on profit-booking

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Tuesday fell by over 49 points in early trade as funds and retail investors booked profits after recent gains even as India’s current account gap narrowed sharply to $5.2 billion, or 1.2 per cent of GDP, in the July-September quarter of 2013-14.

The 30-share barometer, which had gained 477.75 points in the previous three sessions, moved down by 49.42 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 20,848.59, led by the weakness in banking, FMCG, realty and power sector stocks.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, moved down 14.85 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 6,203.00.

Brokers said besides profit-booking by participants, a mixed trend at the Asian markets, influenced the sentiment.

In the Asian region, Nikkei at the Japan stock market, was trading 0.59 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.63 per cent in early trade on Tuesday.

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.48 per cent down in yesterday’s trade.