Sensex, Nifty fall in early trade amid weak trend in Asian equities

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday amid a weak trend in Asian markets and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Weak trend in index major Reliance Industries also dragged benchmark indices lower.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 123.03 points to 57,802.25. The broader NSE Nifty fell 61.1 points to 17,015.80.

From the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Titan, Asian Paints, Nestle and Tata Steel were the major laggards.

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Larsen & Toubro were the gainers.

Buying in IT counters cushioned the fall to some extent.

In Asia markets, Seoul, Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.20 per cent to USD 75.76 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 995.01 crore on Thursday after a day's breather, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark fell 289.31 points or 0.50 per cent to settle at 57,925.28 on Thursday. The Nifty dipped 75 points or 0.44 per cent to end at 17,076.90.