The benchmark Sensex fell almost 97 points and the NSE Nifty cracked below the 9,100— mark in early trade today as investors took profit in recent gainers amid weak Asian cues.

The 30-share barometer declined 96.80 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 29,324.60 with sectoral indices led by metal, teck, IT, healthcare, oil&gas, FMCG and auto trading in negative zone with losses up to 0.86 per cent.

The index had risen about 254 points in the previous two sessions.

Also, the NSE Nifty slipped below the crucial 9,100—level by falling 33.15 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 9,074.85.

Brokers said that apart from profit—booking in recent gainers, a weak trend in Asia following Donald Trump’s failure to push through his healthcare legislation kept shares depressed here.

Major losers that dragged down the key indices included Coal India, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Asian Paint, Tata Motors, Wipro, Lupin, Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel, falling by up to 2.37 per cent.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.16 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.51 per cent in early sessions. Shanghai’s Composite Index, however, was up 0.16 per cent.

Source: thehindu.com