Sensex sheds 76 pts as August series gets off to a shaky start

The BSE Sensex fell over 76 points to trade at 28,132.56 in early trade today on profit-booking by participants in recent gainers as the August derivatives series began on a negative note amid a weak trend in the global market.
The 30-share Sensex fell by 76.06 points, or 0.26 per, to 28,132.56. It had gained 232.10 points in the previous two sessions on more positive signals on GST bill and improvement in corporate earnings.
Banking, technology, IT, consumer durables and FMCG sector stocks were in the negative zone, falling up to 0.29 per cent.
On similar lines, the NSE Nifty was down 23.30 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 8,643.00.

Shares of ICICI Bank fell 1.62 per cent to Rs 267.70 ahead of quarterly earnings to be released later in the day.
Brokers said emergence of profit-booking by participants despite the beginning of August futures and options series, snapped two-day winning streak.

Furthermore, a weak trend in Asia as investors focus on a Bank of Japan policy meeting that wraps up later in the day and overnight losses in the US markets, weighed on sentiment.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.79 per cent while the Japan's Nikkei shed 0.40 per cent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite index fell 0.05 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.09 per cent lower in yesterday's trade.