Mumbai, July 9 - The BSE benchmark Sensex fell by almost 108 points in early trade today as funds and retail investors indulged in selling amid a weakening trend on Asian bourses.

The 30-share index, which had lost 17.55 points in the previous session, moved down by 107.99 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 17,413.13 with stocks of metal, power, capital goods and banking sectors under pressure. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 32.25 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 5,284.25.

Brokers said increased selling by participants in line with a weak trend in the Asian markets after Wall Street tumbled on Friday on weak US jobs data and the IMF warning over the state of the global economy, dampened the trading sentiment.

Besides, investors also turned cautious ahead of quarterly earnings by companies led by software majors Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys later this week, they added.

Meanwhile, in Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index fell 1.05 per cent, while Hong Kong market shed 1.37 per cent in early trade today. The US dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.96 per cent down on Friday. PTI