Markets decline in early trade amid unabated foreign fund outflows

Mumbai, Feb 18 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Tuesday as uninterrupted foreign fund outflows continued to hit investors' sentiment.

After a day's breather, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 201.44 points to 75,795.42 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 82.65 points to 22,876.85.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and Tata Motors were among the biggest laggards.

Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Infosys, HCL Tech and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,937.83 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

"The weakness in the market persists despite the mild recovery witnessed on Monday. The market construct doesn’t favour a rally in the market. FIIs are likely to continue to sell. News flows are not positive," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the positive territory.

US markets were closed on Monday in observance of 'President's Day'.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.24 per cent to USD 75.40 a barrel.

Helped by fag-end buying on Monday, the Sensex climbed 57.65 points or 0.08 per cent to settle at 75,996.86, ending an eight-day losing run. The Nifty rebounded 30.25 points or 0.13 per cent to 22,959.50. PTI SUM DRR

Source: PTI