Sensex drops over 100 pts on profit-booking, weak global cues

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 100 points Tuesday after a five-session winning spree as investors cashed profits in IT, metal, banking, consumer durables, power and auto shares amid sustained foreign fund outflows.

Cues from other Asian markets were weak too.

The BSE 30-share barometer dropped 134.05 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 36,444.91 in early trade as index major Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki declined.

The gauge had rallied over 725 points in the previous five sessions.

The NSE Nifty index too slipped by 45.90 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,915.95.

Brokers said investors turned cautious and preferred to log profits in recent gainers, dragging down key indices.

Besides, a weak trend at most of other Asian markets on concerns about the global economic outlook, after the International Monetary fund (IMF) slashed its world economic forecast Monday, weighed on the sentiments here, they added.

The IMF lowered its global growth projections for 2019 and 2020 to 3.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively, citing slowdown in several advanced economies around the world more rapidly than previously anticipated.

The laggards were Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Vedanta, M&M, Yes Bank, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, RIL, Axis Bank, Infosys, HCL Tech, HDFC, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Asian Paint, HUL and SBI, falling up to 1.70 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued their selling activity on domestic bourses here. They sold shares worth a net Rs 29.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 520.80 crore Monday, provisional data showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.73 per cent, Korea's Kospi was down 0.65 per cent and Taiwan's index shed 0.21 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.88 per cent and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.06 per cent.

The rupee edged 5 paise higher to 71.23 against the US dollar in early session at the interbank forex market Tuesday on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.