The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by 48 points in early trade today. The Sensex was at 17,216 down by 6 points. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dipped by 8 points to 5,106 points.Brokers said markets fell on continued profit-taking by funds and general investors. The Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.27 per cent, while apan's Nikkei shed 0.11 per cent in the morning trade. The US ow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.50 per cent down on Tuesday.