Sensex erases early gains, falls over 100 points

The BSE Sensex turned choppy and fell over 100 points, led by losses on banking, oil & gas, finance and auto counters, amid mixed Asian cues.

The 30-share index opened on a positive note, only to turn negative and trade 130 points, or 0.38 %, lower at 33,750.74.

The gauge had gained 861.18 points in the previous four sessions.

The broader NSE Nifty too fell 35.50 points, or 0.34 %, to 10,366.75.

Concerns over brent crude prices, that again went past USD 70 a barrel, weighed on global equities.

Stocks of oil marketing companies such as HPCL, BPCL and IOC reeled under pressure and fell up to 1.07 %.

Banking stocks, led by private lenders, succumbed to profit-booking after recent gains.

Major Sensex losers were SBI, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Asian Paints, falling up to 2 %.

ONGC, Sun Pharma, TCS, Infosys, Reliance Industries, were among the top gainers, rising up to 2.58 %.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth₹653.65 crore on Tuesday , while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth Rs 684.99 crore, provisional data showed.

Globally, Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.46 %, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.41 %, while Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.20 % in early trade.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.79 % higher yesterday.