Equity markets decline in early trade

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Monday amid weak trends in Asian markets and unabated foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 318.75 points to 64,940.70 in morning trade. The Nifty declined 82.8 points to 19,442.75.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asian Paints were the major laggards.

NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma and Power Grid were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory while Tokyo quoted in the green.

The US markets ended with significant gains on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.88 per cent to USD 80.71 a barrel.

Stock exchanges conducted a one-hour special Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali on November 12.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 190.06 crore on Sunday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark jumped 354.77 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 65,259.45 on the first trading session of Samvat 2080 on Sunday. The broader Nifty advanced 100.20 points or 0.52 per cent to 19,525.55.