Markets decline in early trade on foreign fund outflows, caution ahead of earnings season

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in initial trade on Wednesday amid unabated foreign fund outflows and weak global market trends.

Investors also turned cautious ahead of the earnings season, with TCS scheduled to announce its quarterly results on Thursday.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 236.42 points to 77,962.69 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 62.45 points to 23,645.45.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato, Adani Ports, Titan, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards.

Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Maruti and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,491.46 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul traded in the positive territory while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong quoted lower.

US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.38 per cent to USD 77.34 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark climbed 234.12 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 78,199.11 on Tuesday. The Nifty gained 91.85 points or 0.39 per cent to 23,707.90.