Mumbai: The SENSEX opened weak and was later trapped in an extremely narrow range at early stages in line with a setback in blue-chip counters on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on September 13 due to selling triggered by a sharp slide in global markets.

The BSE sensitive index opened weak at 3115.98 as against previous close of 3131.34 and later fluctuated in range between 3127.29 and 3115.98 before being quoted at 3119.59 at 10:30 hours (IST).

Speculators and public investors seemed to be discouraged by the global depression. The NASDAQ composite index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped sharply by 35.77 points and 201.76 points on September 12 respectively.

In South East Asian markets, the Hang Seng and the NIKKEI were quoted sharply lower by 238.89 points and 202.67 points in early trading on September 13.

Investors preferred to unload their positions in several blue-chip counters in the absence of FII activity, which has been slowed down for the past few sessions.

PTI