Sensex lost its early gains and was trading in red at 18497 down by almost 9 points. Earlier in the morning it opened with the gain of 120 points. The National Stock Exchange NIFTY is also down by 7 points at 5539. In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 0.48 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index remained almost flat in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.24 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.