Sensex falls 35 points due to profit-booking in early trade

Market benchmark BSE Sensex fell by some 35 points in early trade today as funds and retail investors booked profits after Monday's strong gains amid mixed Asian cues.

The 30-share index, which had gained 460.36 points in the previous session, fell by 34.71 points, or 0.13%, to 25,654.15.

Profit-booking in stocks of auto, metal, infrastructure, consumer durables, oil & gas and PSU sectors negatively impacted the trading sentiment. National Stock Exchange index Nifty slipped by 9.05 points, or 0.12%, to 7,857.

Brokers said besides profit-booking by retail investors and funds after Monday's rally, a mixed trend at other Asian markets led to decline in domestic stocks. Moreover, a cautious stance by participants ahead of the key macroeconomic data and quarterly earnings by some more companies, to be released this week, influenced sentiment, they said.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 1.50%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.26% in early trade on Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite index was up 0.19%. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.20% lower in Monday's trade.