The BSE benchmark Sensex wiped off its Monday's gains and was trading over 20 points down in morning trade on Tuesday as funds and retail investors booked profits after recent gains.
At 10.16 am, Sensex was down 25.66 points at 20872.35. Similarly, Nifty was down 10.10 points at 6207.75 during the same time.
Brokers said besides profit-booking by participants, a mixed trend at the Asian markets, influenced the sentiment.
The 30-share barometer, which had gained 477.75 points in the previous three sessions, moved down by 49.42 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 20,848.59 in early trade, led by the weakness in banking, FMCG, realty and power sector stocks.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, moved down 14.85 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 6,203.00.
In the Asian region, Nikkei at the Japan stock market, was trading 0.59 per cent higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.63 per cent in early trade on Tuesday.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.48 per cent down in Monday's trade.