Sensex falls by 38 points in early trade

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex shed over 38 points in early trade on Thursday as investors sold stocks to book profits at existing levels amid a mixed trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index, which gained 45.79 points in the previous session, fell by 38.07 points or 0.22 per cent to 17,060.26 points in early trade after rising to 17,125.05. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dipped by 11.95 points or 0.15 per cent to 5,104.30 points.

Brokers said emergence of profit taking by funds as well as retailers and mixed trend on other Asian markets mainly dampened the trading sentiments. They said a cautious approach adopted by major players, after recent run-up, also cast its shadow on the sentiments.

Hindalco fell by 1.14 per cent to Rs 160.90, Sterlite Industries by 1.06 per cent to Rs 795.20, Tata Steel by 1.02 per cent to Rs 604.75, HDFC Ltd by 0.59 per cent to Rs 2685, Hero Honda by 0.78 per cent to Rs 1,914.80 and Hindsutan Unilever by 1.65 pent to Rs 234.90.