Markets bearish, Sensex down 73 pts in opening trade

Mumbai: Extending its losing streak for the third straight session, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex moved down by over 73 points in opening trade today as funds and retail investors continued to limit their exposure to the sinking equity market in the absence of positive cues.

The 30-share Sensex, which has lost nearly 700 points in the previous two sessions, fell by 73.15 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 16,068.52 in the first few minutes of trade today.

In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index shed 23.35, or 0.48 percent, to 4,822.30.

IT, capital goods, metals, banking and auto sectors continued to remain under selling pressure, dragging down theSensex.

Market experts said the trading sentiment remained bearish in the absence of positive cues either at home or overseas amid lingering worries about the health of the global economy.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 0.63 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.37 percent in morning trade today. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.57 percent in the previous session on Friday.

PTI