Sensex down 40 points in early trade on profit-booking

The BSE benchmark Sensex today fell by nearly almost 40 points in early trade as investors booked profits after two sessions of gains.

The 30-share barometer fell by 39.69 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,212.92, led by losses in stocks of metal, realty, auto, banking and oil and gas sectors. The index had gained nearly 375 points in the previous two sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shed 17.30 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 5,801.30.

Brokers said profit booking by speculators after recent gains mainly influenced the trading sentiment but a firming trend in the Asian region, cushioned the fall to some extent.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was up by 0.39 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.10 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.30 per cent higher yesterday.

Stocks to watch-March 7

(Reuters): Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange fell 0.3 percent. The MSCI-Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan was down 0.34 percent.

Asian shares fell on Thursday after two strong days of gains, as investors focused on meetings of the central banks of Japan, Britain and the euro zone for signs of more policy stimulus, while solid U.S. economic data underpinned the dollar.

Wall Street mostly edged higher on Wednesday, with the Dow hitting another record, helped by a private payroll survey that bodes well for the monthly jobs report due at the week's end.

FACTORS TO WATCH

India's ruling Congress party will host a party meeting, intending to build parliamentary consensus for a land acquisition bill it wants to pass in the current session.

FINANCIAL/REGULATORY

The government is looking to cut withholding tax rate for foreign investments in all types of corporate bonds, as it eyes fresh measures to top up the budget proposals when finance minister P Chidambaram replies to the debate in parliament, an unnamed senior finance ministry official said.

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