Extending its losing streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday fell 53 points in early trade on sustained selling by funds after weak cues from CPI and IIP data .
The retail inflation measured in terms of consumer price index (CPI) rose to 10.09 per cent in October, entering double digits after seven months. Meanwhile, industrial production grew by two per cent in September, mainly on account of better performance by power and mining sectors.
The 30-share index fell by 53.97 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 20,227.94 in first five minutes of trading. The Sensex has lost 957.45 points in past six sessions.
At 10: 42 am, the Sensex was trading 40 points higher at 20,318 points.
Stocks of power, capital goods, metal, consumer durable and banking sectors declined due to profit booking.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 19.90 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 5,998.15.
At 10:42 am, the Nifty was trading 6 points higher at 1024 levels.
Brokers said sustained selling by funds amid weakening trend on other Asian bourses mainly influenced the trading sentiment. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was down 0.09 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1.31 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.21 per cent down in Tuesday's trade.