Sensex in red in early trades

Indian bourses opened soft on the back of global cues.

The Sensex opened flat at 17,476 and declined to touch a low of 17,415. The index is now down 46 points at 17,426.

The Nifty is down 22 points at 5,222.

The US markets ended on a flat note. The Dow closed at 11124, higher by seven points, Nasdaq ended at 2504, higher by four points and S&P shut shop at 1205, lower by one point.

The Asian markets have opened weak across the board.

The Hang Seng is quoting at 21,293, weaker by 217 points or 1% and the Nikkei is at 10,881, lower by 208 points or 1.8%.

The BSE realty index has dropped 1% to 3,594. Bankex and metal indices are also down 0.4% each. However, the FMCG index has manged to buck trends and is up marginally at 2,857.

DLF has dropped 1.3% to Rs 326. Hindalco and Tata Steel have shed 1% each to Rs 178 and Rs 1,730, respectively.

Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Reliance Infrastructure, BHEL and Bharti Airtel have declined nearly 1% each.

Other losers include Tata Power, Grasim and Wipro.

However, Hindustan Unilever has gained 1.5% at Rs 236. Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti are up marginally at Rs 513 and Rs 1,384, respectively.