Sensex falls 110 pts on profit booking, weak global cues

The Sensex, which had gained 215 points in last two trading sessions, opened weak and touched a low of 18,611.76 as selling pressure engulfed Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC, HDFC Bank and L&T.

FII outflows and dollar demand pushed the rupee 1 per cent to 53.90 against the US currency, further dampening sentiment.

FMCG major ITC, however, after posting better-than -expected results rose 2 per cent and helped the Sensex trim some losses and close at 18,682.31 -- down 109.62 points, or 0.58 per cent over Thursday.

"For the week, the Sensex has ended lower on the back of profit booking and absence of fresh triggers for the market. In today's market, the Sensex slipped 0.6 per cent due to profit booking in banking & financials, infrastructure, metals, auto and oil & gas exploration," said Sanjeev Zarbade, Vice President (PCG Research), Kotak Securities.

Among 30-share Sensex, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, Gail and Bhel lead the 24 losers. TCS shares weakened 1.14 per cent ahead of its September quarter results today evening.

On similar lines, the broad-based 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 34.45 points, or 0.60 per cent, to close at 5,684.25.

Globally, major Asian markets fell around 0.5-1 pe cent while European indices were trading weak in afternoon deals.

Brokers said selling activity picked up after US markets closed in negative on poor earnings by tech majors.

Investors in Indian markets booked profits after gains in the previous two sessions helped Sensex rise to one-week highs, they added.

September quarter earnings remained a major worry as one out of the three index companies have so far reported earnings below market expectations, dealers said.