Sensex slips 131 points below 34,000 mark as Rs 11,400-cr Punjab National Bank fraud hits investors' sentiments

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex slipped below the 34,000-mark by falling nearly 131 points in early trade on Monday, extending Friday’s losses as investors cut bets amid weak domestic sentiment and absence of Asian cues. The 30-share barometer dropped by 130.54 points, or 0.38 percent, to 33,880.22 in early trade led by fall in Tata Steel, SBI, Reliance Industries and L&T. The gauge had lost 286.71 points in the previous on Friday. The Nifty50 index also fell 47.40 points, or 0.45 percent, at 10,404.90. Brokers said investors trimmed positions on distinctly weak sentiment since the detection of a massive Rs 11,400-crore fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). Shares PNB remained under selling pressure and lost another 5.25 percent. Other laggards were Tata Steel, SBI, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, M&M, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paint, Bajaj Auto, Yes Bank, ONGC, Coal India and Reliance Industries, falling up to 3.22 percent. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued selling on domestic bourses. On net basis, they sold shares worth Rs 1,065.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 1,127.78 crore on Friday, provisional data showed. Globally, in the Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.33 percent, while markets in Hong Kong and China remained shut today on account of a public holiday. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.08 percent higher on Friday.