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Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on April 26, tracking a weak trend in the US market and foreign fund outflows.
Besides, a weak trend in index majors Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank dragged the benchmark indices lower in early trade.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 54.08 points to 60,076.63, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 24 points to 17,745.25.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and HDFC Bank were the biggest laggards.
Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors and Nestle were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading in the green while Japan and Shanghai were trading with losses. US markets closed sharply on Tuesday.
“Markets could slide sharply in early trading Wednesday as major US gauges wobbled overnight as First Republic shares plunged 41% amid a renewed banking crisis.
“The volatility will continue for the next two trading days, given the expiry of April futures and options contracts on Thursday,” said Prashant Tapase, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, in his pre-market open note.
The 30-share BSE benchmark closed 74.61 points or 0.12% higher at 60,130.71 on Tuesday. The Nifty closed at 17,769.25, up 25.85 points or 0.15%. Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42% to $81.11 per barrel.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 407.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.