Sensex falls 136 pts in early trade on profit-booking

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 136 points in early trade today on sustained profit-booking by participants after recent gains amidst a weakening trend overseas.

The 30-share index fell by 136 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 29,046.95 as banking, PSUs, metals, oil & gas and FMCG stocks witnessed tremendous sell-off.

The gauge had retreated from record-high and tumbled by 498.82 points in the previous session on Friday on heavy profit-booking.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty dipped below the psychological 8,800-mark by falling 27.90 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 8,781.00 in early trade.

Brokers said besides profit-booking and subdued earnings by some companies, a weak trend on other Asian bourses following weekend losses in US markets in response to disappointing growth data, influenced sentiments here.

Further, cautious approach adopted by retail investors and other participants ahead of RBI's policy review tomorrow, weighed on sentiments, they said.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei shed 0.68 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.65 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.45 per cent lower in Friday's trade.