Markets decline in early trade on weak global peers, foreign fund outflows

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Monday in tandem with a weak trend in global markets and foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 281.74 points to 80,902.19. The NSE Nifty declined 81.45 points to 24,770.70.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were the biggest laggards.

Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.

The US markets ended significantly lower on Friday.

"The stock markets have taken a sharp bearish turn, with sentiment shifting from optimism about cooling US inflation to concerns over a potential US economic slowdown. Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs data has reignited fears of a recession, further compounded by soft manufacturing updates," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 620.95 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

"Two factors are likely to weigh on markets: one, the outcome of the US presidential elections and two, the Fed decision on rate cut," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.24 per cent to USD 71.94 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark had tumbled 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 81,183.93 on Friday. The NSE Nifty dropped 292.95 points or 1.17 per cent to 24,852.15.