Sensex down 202 points in early trade

The BSE benchmark index Sensex declined over 202 points in early trade on Monday on profit-booking by speculators amid a weak trend in the Asian region. The 30-share barometer, which had gained 536 points in the previous three sessions, fell by 202.86 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 19,713.09 with banking, oil and gas, PSUs, metal, realty, auto and capital goods sector stocks leading the fall.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved down by 38.55 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 5,868.75. Brokers said besides booking of profit by participants after three sessions of gains, weakening trend on Asian bourses on growing concerns the US government shutdown crisis could lead to a devastating default, dampened the sentiment here.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.78 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei Index edged lower by 1.07 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.51 per cent higher on Friday.