Sensex down 36 points in cautious early trade

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 36 points in early trade on Wednesday due to offloading of positions by participants in view of monthly expiry in the derivatives segment amidst sustained capital outflows.

The 30-share barometer, which had lost 195.33 points in the previous session, moved further down by 36.69 points, or 0.13%, to 27,469.77 with stocks of infrastructure, oil & gas, metal, capital goods, healthcare and banking sectors leading the fall. Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty shed 6.95 points, or 0.08%, to 8,260.05. Brokers said squaring-up of positions by speculators as today being the last trading session of December expiry and persistent selling by foreign funds, influenced sentiments.

They said, however, a firming trend at other Asian markets following overnight gains in US markets on robust economic growth in the third quarter, capped losses on the domestic bourses. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 0.21%, while Japan's Nikkei rose 1.17% in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.36% higher in yesterday's trade.