Sensex extends losses ahead of exit polls; down 87 points

The Sensex shed about 87 points while the NSE Nifty cracked below the 8,900-mark in early trade today on sustained selling in oil and gas, power, healthcare and PSU counters ahead of exit poll results.

The 30-share Sensex barometer, which had lost 146.25 points in the previous two sessions, fell by another 86.92 points or 0.30 per cent to 28,815.02.

The broader Nifty too declined by 24.80 points or 0.27 per cent to 8,899.50.

Brokers said trimming of positions by participants ahead of exit poll results for the assembly elections later in the day amid a weak trend globally, influenced trading sentiment.

Among major losers on BSE were GAIL, Dr Reddy's, Power Grid, ONGC, Adani Ports, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Infosys and ITC Ltd, which fell up to 4.25 per cent in early trade.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down by 1.01 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.15 per cent in early trade. Shanghai Composite index shed 0.92 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.33 per cent lower in yesterday's trade.