Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex fell by nearly 89 points in early trade on 24 August as funds and retail investors preferred to book profits amid a weak trend in Asian region.

The 30-share index, which had ended marginally higher by 3.36 points in yesterday's volatile session, fell by 88.71 points, or 0.49 percent, to 17,761.51, with stocks of metals, auto and realty sectors leading the fall.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 34.45 points, or 0.63 percent, to 5,380.90.

Marketmen said profit-booking by speculators, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and European markets on dim growth outlook, mainly influenced the trading sentiment.

In Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 1.17 percent, while Japan's Nikkei Index shed 1.24 percent in the morning on 24 August trade.

In Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.87 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei index shed 0.08 percent in opening trade on 23 August.

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.88 per cent lower on 23 August trade.