Sensex drops over 100 points; bank stocks drag

Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex fell below the 38,000 mark, shedding nearly 100 points in early trade, on Tuesday amid heavy foreign fund outflow and weak domestic cues.

The 30-share index was trading 103.50 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 37,927.63 at 0930 hours; and the broader Nifty also fell 28.50 points or 1.25 per cent to 11,317.70.

In the previous session, the 30-share index cracked 305.88 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at 38,031.13, and the broader NSE Nifty sank 82.10 points 0.72 per cent to close at over two-month low of 11,337.15.

In early trade, Yes Bank and HDFC duo were the top losers, slipping up to 2.47 per cent. Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, SBI, L&T, IndusInd Bank, M&M, ICICI Bank and RIL too fell up to 1.56 per cent.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance and NTPC rose up to 1.75 per cent.

According to experts, market has entered a bearish phase amid concerns over an economic slowdown and weak corporate earnings. Heavy foreign fund outflow and weak monsoon is also hurting investor sentiment here, they said.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,916.91 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares to the tune of Rs 1,829.90 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi were trading in the green in their respective early sessions. Equities on Wall Street too ended on a positive note on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 10 paise (intra-day) to 69.03 against the US dollar. The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading marginally higher at 63.33 per barrel.