Sensex down 183 points in early trade on weak Asian cues

The BSE Sensex today fell by over 183 points in early trade, extending losses for the second straight session, due to sustained selling by funds amid a weak trend on other Asian bourses.
The 30-share benchmark index, which had lost 142.88 points on Friday, lost 183.14 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 19,244.42 in the early trade.
Similarly, the wide-based the National Stock Exchange Nifty declined by 58.25 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 5,814.35.
All the sectoral indices, led by metals, realty and bank, were trading in the negative zone, with losses of up to 2.07 per cent.
Brokers said continued selling by funds largely in line with a weak trend in Asian bourses as euro-zone fears returned on news that Cyprus was planning to tax bank depositors as part of a controversial bailout, influenced the trading sentiment here.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 2.04 per cent and Japan's Nikkei index shed 2.15 per cent in the morning trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.17 per cent lower in Friday's trade.