Sensex slips 51 points ahead of F&O expiry

Stock markets turned weak today as the benchmark Sensex fell by almost 51 points in early trade as investors adopted a cautious approach in view of August derivatives expiry and release of key macroeconomic data later in the day.

Besides, mixed Asian cues weighed on the sentiment.

The 30-share index fell by 50.58 points, or 0.15 per cent, to quote at 31,595.88. It had gained 258.07 points in the previous session.BSE indices led by FMCG, power, teck, banking and metal declined.

The NSE Nifty fell by 14.25 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 9,870.15.

Squaring-up of positions by participants -- today being the last trading session of August series



contracts in the derivatives segment -- and caution ahead of the GDP data for the June quarter, to be released later in the day, influenced sentiment here.

Major losers were NTPC, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Dr Reddy's, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Ltd, Coal India, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Hind Unilever, Tata Steel, ITC Ltd, M&M and TCS, falling by up to 1.49 per cent.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.60 per cent while Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.51 per cent in early trade. Japan's Nikkei, however, was up 0.70 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.12 per cent higher yesterday.