Sensex slides 141 points in early morning trade

Mumbai: Continuing to slide for the second consecutive session, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 141 points to 26,462.18 in early trade today amid a weak trend in Asian bourses as the US Fed hiked interest rates by a quarter percentage point and indicated more to come next year.

The 30-share barometer was trading down by 140.66 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 26,462.18. The gauge had lost about 95 points in the previous session. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Asian Paints, ITC Ltd, Coal India and Hindustan Unilever were the major losers that pulled down the key indices.

The NSE Nifty fell by 60.50 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 8,121.95. Brokers said selling by foreign funds and investors gathered momentum, tracking a weak trend at other Asian bourses after the US Federal Reserve announced the first interest rate hike this year and indicated more may come next year, dampened sentiments here.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.74 per cent and Shanghai Composite shed 0.13 per cent while Japan's Nikkei was down 0.15 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.60 per cent lower yesterday.