Sensex down 68 points in opening trade on weak Asian cues

Mumbai : The benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by over 68 points in opening trade today, breaking its six- session winning streak due to profit booking in power, metal, consumer durables and healthcare stocks amid weak Asian leads after North Korea launched another missile over Japan. The 30-share index fell by 68.45 points or 0.21 per cent to 32,173.48.

The gauge had rallied 579.96 points in the previous six sessions. The NSE Nifty too was down by 31.80 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 10,054.80. Brokers said investors booked profits amid a weak trend in Asian markets as geopolitical tensions revived after North Korea fired another missile over Japan’s northern island. Major losers were Sun Pharma, Power Grid, Cipla, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, Lupin, Asian Paint, Dr Reddy’s, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro, Tata Steel, HDFC Ltd and SBI, declining by up to 1.37 per cent.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.51 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.34 per cent in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei, however, was up 0.10 per cent. The US Dow Jones ended 0.20 per cent higher yesterday.