Sensex down 51 points in early trade on weak Asian cues

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex fell about 51 points in early trade on Tuesday on profit-booking in consumer durables, IT, metal and banking stocks amid weak Asian cues as investors turned cautious ahead of key policy meetings of the Federal Reserve and Japanese central bank.

The 30-share index fell 50.70 points or 0.17 percent to 28,583.80. The gauge had gained 280.96 points in the previous four sessions.

The NSE Nifty broke below the 8,800-mark falling 23.90 points, or 0.27 percent, to 8,784.50.

Equity brokers said that besides trimming of positions in recent gainers by participants at existing levels, weak trend in other Asian markets dampened sentiments here as investors awaited upcoming US and Japanese central bank meetings.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was down 0.70 percent while Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.30 percent in morning trade today. Hong Kong's Hang Seng too fell 0.15 percent.

The US Dow Jones ended 0.02 percent lower in yesterday's trade.