Mumbai : Snapping a four-day rising streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by over 40 points in early trade on Monday as funds and retail investors booked profits at prevailing levels.

The 30-share index, which gained over 547 points in the last four sessions, fell by 40.19 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,389.79 with stocks of oil and gas, auto and banking sectors succumbing to profit-booking.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 11.90 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,267.00.

Brokers said profit-booking by speculators after recent strong gains following government’s moves to revive the economy and clarity on tax-avoidance rules, snapped the four-day rising streak.

They, however, added that a firming trend on Asian bourses following Friday’s gains in the global markets capped the losses.

Meanwhile, in Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei Index rose by 0.16 percent, while Hong Kong market remained closed.