BSE Sensex down 59 points in early trade on profit-booking

The 30-share barometer, which gained 56.98 points in the previous session on Friday, moved down by 59.46 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 18,859.06, led by the weakness metals, capital goods, power and banking sector stocks.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, moved down 22.50 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 5,697.20.

Brokers said besides profit-booking by speculators, a mixed trend at the Asian markets after US lawmakers failed to prevent the imposition of USD 85 billion in spending cuts that kicked in at the end of last week, influenced the sentiment.

In the Asian region, Nikkei at the Japan stock market, was trading 0.50 per cent higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1.02 per cent in early trade today.

Stocks to watch-March 4

(Reuters): Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange fell 0.6 percent. The MSCI-Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan fell 1.2 percent.

Asian shares eased on Monday, as worries about China tightening its grip on the property sector on the eve of the country's annual parliamentary meetings compounded weak sentiment already dampened by a patchy global growth outlook.

U.S. stocks advanced modestly on Friday, leaving the S&P 500 with slight gains in a volatile week as strong

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