Sensex plunges 222 points in early trade on global cues

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex declined further by about 222 points to 29,263.74 and the NSE Nifty slipped below the 9,100-mark in early trade today due to selling in pharma, auto and oil stocks.

The 30-share Sensex fell by 221.71 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 29,263.74 with 25 of its constituents trading the negative zone. The barometer had lost 163.54 points in the previous two sessions.

Sustained selling by investors amid a weak trend in Asian markets following overnight losses at the US market led to fall in stocks, brokers said.

A depreciating rupee against the dollar also weighed on the sentiment. All BSE sectoral indices led by metal, auto and realty were trading in the red, with losses up to 1.30 per cent.

Bharti Airtel fell by over 2 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra by 1.9 per cent, ICICI Bank by 1.8 per cent on BSE.

Among pharma stocks, Cipla, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy fell up to 1 per cent. The NSE Nifty plunged by 80.40 points, or 0.88 per cent, at 9,041.10 points.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.39 per cent and Shanghai Composite shed 0.77 per cent while Japan's Nikkei was down 2.01 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.14 per cent lower yesterday.