Sensex tanks 236 pts in opening trade on Asian cues

The BSE benchmark Sens*x on Monday plunged by over 236 points to dip below 17,000 points level in opening trade as foreign funds and investors sold shares amid weakening global trends.

The 30-share index fell by 236.44 points to 16,898.11 points. All the sectoral indices were trading in the negative zone with losses up to 1.25 percent.

The BSE barometer had gained 441.55 points in the previous three sessions. The market remained closed on Friday on account of 'Gandhi Jayanti'.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved down by 72 points, or 1.41 percent to 5,011.40 points.

Brokers said weakening trends on the other Asian bourses triggered fresh selling by foreign funds and investors.

Among Sens*x stocks, Reliance Industries dipped by 0.94 per cent to Rs 2,150, Infosys Technologies by 1.01 per cent to Rs 2,302.15, Tata Consultancy Services by 1.33 per cent to Rs 623.55, DLF Ltd by 1.93 per cent to Rs 431.65, SBI by 1.67 per cent to Rs 2,173 and Sterlite Industries by 1.07 per cent to Rs 770 and Tata Steel by 0.73 per cent to Rs 506.60.

The Japan's Nikkei was down 0.40 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.10 percent in morning trade on Monday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.23 percent lower on Friday.