The BSE benchmark Sensex fell by over 300 points in early trade on Sunday. The 30-share index, which had lost 298 points in the previous session, fell further by 287 points, or 1.70 per cent, to 16,579 in the first few minutes of trade. IT, banking, metal and auto stocks led the fall. The Sensex was trading lower by 302 points at 16,564 points in morning deals, with all sectoral indices, barring FMCG, in the negative zone. The wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index also plunged by 88 points, or 1.75 per cent, to trade below 5,000 points level, at 4,970. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei index was trading 2 per cent lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 3.27 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2.69 per cent lower on Friday last.