Markets fall in early trade after 4-day rally dragged by bank stocks

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday after a four-day rally amid emergence of profit-taking, mainly in bank stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 182.77 points to 83,876.13 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 46.25 points to 25,591.55.

From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

However, Larsen & Toubro, Trent, State Bank of India and Eternal were among the gainers.

In the past four trading days, the Sensex jumped 2,162.11 points or 2.64 per cent and the Nifty surged 665.9 points or 2.66 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index were trading in the positive territory while Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted lower.

The US markets ended higher on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,397.02 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.24 per cent to USD 67.61 a barrel.

On Friday, the Sensex climbed 303.03 points or 0.36 per cent to reclaim the 84,000 level and settle at 84,058.90. On the similar lines, the Nifty rose 88.80 points or 0.35 per cent to 25,637.80.