The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange was down by nearly 18 points during noon trading. The 30-share barometer which recovered 66 points in early trade today lost its early gains and was trading on 19,338 with nearly 18 points down. Similarly, the Nify at the National Stock Exchange also lost its morning gains and was down by 2 poins at at 5,886.In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.22 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei gained 1.90 per cent.The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.02 per cent lower in yesterday's trade.