Sensex down 65 points in early trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex today declined by 65 points in early trade on sustained selling by funds amid a weakening trend on other Asian bourses. The 30-share barometer fell by 64.99 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 19,574.73 in first five minutes of trading. The index had lost almost 366 points in past five sessions. Stocks of power, capital goods, metal, consumer durable and banking sectors declined due to profit-booking. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 22.75 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,936.45. Brokers said sustained selling by funds amid weakening trend on other Asian bourses mainly influenced the trading sentiment. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was down 0.97 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.39 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0,05 per cent up in yesterday's trade.