Sensex, Nifty slip from lifetime highs

The benchmark BSE Sensex slipped from record high by falling over 50 points in early trade on Tuesday as RIL and ONGC plunged after the Election Commission asked the government to defer till the polls the doubling of natural gas prices.

The 30-share Sensex fell by 50.34 points, or 0.23 %, to trade at 22,005.14. It soared to an all-time intra-day lifetime high of 22,074.34 in yesterday's trade.

The 50-share NSE Nifty, which climbed to hit record high of 6,591.50 in the previous session, fell 6.10 points, or 0.09 %, to 6,577.40. In the oil & gas segment, RIL fell by 2.83 % to Rs 879, while ONGC was trading 3.25 % down at 310.75 on fresh round of selling, dragging the BSE oil & gas sector index down by 2.49 % to 9,071.03 in early trade.

Besides, emergence of profit-booking at record levels by participants and a weakening trend in the Asian region, following overnight losses in the US markets also dampened the trading sentiments, brokers said. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 0.33 % while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.51 % in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.16 % lower in yesterday's trade.