Sensex erases early gains, falls over 100 points

The BSE Sensex turned choppy and fell over 100 points, led by losses on banking, oil & gas, finance and auto counters, amid mixed Asian cues.

The 30-share index opened on a positive note, only to turn negative and trade 130 points, or 0.38 per cent, lower at 33,750.74.The gauge had gained 861.18 points in the previous four sessions.

The broader NSE Nifty too fell 35.50 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 10,366.75.

Concerns over brent crude prices, that again went past USD 70 a barrel, weighed on global equities.

Stocks of oil marketing companies such as HPCL, BPCL and IOC reeled under pressure and fell up to 1.07 per cent.

Banking stocks, led by private lenders, succumbed to profit-booking after recent



gains.

Major Sensex losers were SBI, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Asian Paints, falling up to 2 per cent.

ONGC, Sun Pharma, TCS, Infosys, Reliance Industries, were among the top gainers, rising up to 2.58 per cent.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 653.65 crore yesterday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth Rs 684.99 crore, provisional data showed.

Globally, Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.46 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.41 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.20 per cent in early trade.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.79 per cent higher yesterday.