The BSE benchmark Sensex which lost over 88 points in opening trade, lost further ground as it was trading at 17,861 points, down by 151, a short while ago. The 30-share barometer fell to 17,889 points in the first few minutes of trade as realty, IT and oil and gas company stocks retreated. The wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index was down by 44 points, trading at 5,351 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was trading lower by 0.69 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was marginally up in morning trade on Wednesday. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down by 0.20 per cent in Tuesday's trade.