The benchmark BSE Sensex shed about 68 points to trade at 35,196.44 in early deals today on sustained capital outflows by foreign funds...

The benchmark BSE Sensex shed about 68 points to trade at 35,196.44 in early deals today on sustained capital outflows by foreign funds amid selling pressure on some counters and weak Asian cues. Deprecating rupee against the dollar also added to the dampened sentiment. Most Asian shares dropped as sentiment remained fragile in the face of tense trade relations between the US and major economies, with investors braced for another potentially rocky day for Chinese markets, a broker said.

Most Asian shares dropped

The 30-share index dropped 67.97 points or 0.19 percent to 35,196.44. The gauge had lost 159.07 points in the previous session yesterday. In a similar fashion, the NSE Nifty fell 12 points or 0.11 percent to 10,645.30. Sectoral indices led by realty, power, metal, healthcare, PSU, consumer durables, FMCG, and banking were trading in the negative zone with fall of up to 0.79 percent. Major losers were Vedanta, Power Grids, ICICI Bank, NTPC, HDFC Ltd, ITC, Wipro, M&M, Kotak Bank, Coal India, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki and Adani ports, falling up to 3.31 percent.

Foreign portfolio investors

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,205.12 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 366.94 crore yesterday as per provisional data. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.60 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 3.02 percent in early trade. China's Shanghai Composite index too plunged 1.63 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.15 percent higher in yesterday's trade.