Sensex falls over 100 pts; bank, energy, IT stocks drag

Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex dropped over 100 points in early session on Tuesday, dragged by banking, energy and IT stocks, amid weak global cues.

The 30-share index was trading 147.66 points, or 0.40 per cent, lower at 36,975.65 at 0930 hours, while the broader Nifty fell 43.30 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 10,960.20.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 262 points, or 0.70 per cent, lower at 37,123.31, while the Nifty closed 79.80 points, or 0.72 per cent, down at 10,996.10.

Top losers in the Sensex pack in early trade on included Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, M&M, TCS, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and Maruti, falling up to 1.86 per cent.

On the other hand, Vedanta, Yes Bank, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, ONGC, SBI and IndusInd Bank, rose up to 2.22 per cent.

On Monday, foreign portfolio investor sold shares worth a net of Rs 751.26 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 308.56 crore, provisional data showed.

Investor sentiment remained weak amid geopolitical uncertainties over the Saudi oil turmoil, US-China trade war and looming global economic slowdown, experts said.

Market is now awaiting cues from the upcoming trade talks between China and the US as well as a much-anticipated policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, scheduled to begin later in the day.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng and Nikkei were trading in the red in their respective late morning sessions, while Kospi was in the positive territory.

On Wall Street, bourses ended on a negative note on Monday.

The rupee, meanwhile, depreciated 17 paise against its previous close at 71.77 in early session.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.93 per cent to 68.38 per barrel (intra-day).