Sensex falls below 15K in early trade

Mumbai, Aug 8 : With the annual inflation crossing the 12 per cent mark for the first time in 13 years for the week ended July 26, the 30-share Sensex, benchmark of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell by 117 points at 14,999.92 in early trade today after heavy selling by funds.

National Stock Exchange (NSE)'s Nifty fell 31 points to 4492.95. The index touched a high of 4540.75 and low of 4480.80 so far.

Inflation has more than doubled since late February mainly on soaring oil prices, prompting the Reserve Bank India to tighten the annual monetary policy aggressively.

Stockbrokers said overnight weakness at US markets was a dampening factor besides the rising inflation.

ANI