The BSE benchmark Sensex, which declined by nearly 80 points in early trade today, recovered some ground in late morning deals and was trading 23 points in the negative territory at 16,716 when reports last came in. The Sensex had gained over 285 points in the previous two sessions.In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index was trading down by 7 points at 5,041.In the Asia region Japan's Nikkei Index down by 0.14 per cent in early trade today.