Mumbai;The Sensex fell almost 92 points to 24,400.52 in early trade today as participants cut down risky bets in view of the January derivatives expiry amid lacklustre Asian cues.
The rupee dealt a further blow, which fell another 14 paise to trade at a fresh 29-month low of 68.19 against the dollar at the forex market in early hours.
The 30-share barometer fell 91.87 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 24,400.52. The gauge had gained 530.18 points in the previous straight three sessions.
Losses in Bharti Airtel, HDFC Ltd, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, SBI, L&T and ICICI Bank stocks kept the Sensex on edge.
The NSE Nifty too declined 28.15 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 7,409.60.
Today being the last trading session of the January futures and options expiry, winding-up of positions and profit-booking at select stocks took their toll.
Other Asian markets got the blues after the US Fed hinted at more interest rate hikes this year despite the lingering economic uncertainty, which also hit sentiment.
The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.51 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei eased back 0.04 per cent in early trade today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading a tad higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.38 per cent lower in yesterday’s trade.
PTI