Sensex loses 125 points in opening trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 125 points in opening trade on Thursday despite IT major Infosys posting a better-than-expected 33.25 per cent growth in net profit for the third quarter as participants cashed in on recent gains.
   
A weakening trend on other Asian bourses in line with losses in the US market also triggered selling in the domestic market.
   
The 30-share BSE index, which gained over 361 points in the previous two sessions, declined by 125 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 16,050.86 in opening trade.
   
In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index shed 31.65 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 4,829.30.
   
The BSE IT sector index fell the most, losing 4.85 per cent to 5,549.36 as Infosys Ltd stocks plunged by 6.05 per cent to Rs 2,655, Tata Consultancy Services shed 3.62 per cent to Rs 1,096 and Wipro lost 3.72 per cent to Rs 386.50.
   
Brokers said fresh selling by funds, mostly of a profit-booking nature, and the cautious approach adopted by market players ahead of the release of IIP data for November later in the day dragged down the Sensex.
   
They said even a 33.25 per cent increase in Infosys Ltd's net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011, failed to boost the trading sentiment.
   
Meanwhile, in the Asia region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.44 per cent and Japan's Nikkei Index by 0.36 per cent in early trade today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US ended 0.10 per cent lower yesterday.