MUMBAI: After rising for two back-to-back sessions, the stock market turned weak as the benchmark Sensex fell nearly 146 points and the NSE Nifty hung below the 8,000-mark in early trade today, with participants liquidating positions in view of November month derivatives expiry. Besides, weak Asian cues as upbeat economic data strengthened prospect of higher US interest rates and the continued free-fall of the rupee against the American currency weighed on sentiment, brokers said. The rupee today weakened by another 27 paise against the dollar to trade at a fresh nine-month low of 68.83, extending its free-fall for the fifth straight day on sustained foreign fund outflows amid the American currency surging overseas at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. The 30-share index was trading lower by 145.97 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 25,905.84. The gauge had gained 286.67 points in the previous two sessions. Sectoral indices led by auto, power, banking, consumer durables, capital goods and FMCG, declining by up to 0.97 per cent. The NSE Nifty fell 59.35 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 7,973.95 in early trade. Offloading of positions by participants — today being the last trading session of November series contracts in the derivatives segment — and weak Asian cues, dampened sentiment here. Major losers were Tata Motors, Lupin, NTPC, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, L&T, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, SBI and RIL, falling by up to 1.68 per cent. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.37 per cent while Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.11 per cent in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei, however, was up 1.08 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.31 per cent higher yesterday.
