Markets decline in early trade mirroring weak Asian equities

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday dragged down by blue-chip bank stocks and weak trends in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex declined 106.78 points to 81,223.78 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 38.45 points to 24,628.45.

Later, the BSE benchmark traded 247.22 points lower at 81,082.80, and the Nifty quoted 67.15 points down at 24,599.75.

From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.

Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were trading lower. US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

"The market appears to be heading for a near-term consolidation phase with the mid and smallcaps outperforming. The sustained robust FII buying which lifted the largecaps is likely to weaken in the new context of trade deal emerging between US and China," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 2.10 per cent to USD 64.70 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 931.80 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex climbed 182.34 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,330.56. The Nifty rose by 88.55 points or 0.36 per cent to 24,666.90.