Amid weak Asian markets and continuous foreign fund outflows, the equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on Tuesday. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 98.14 points to 65,925.55. The Nifty declined 18.75 points to 19,655.80.
Among the Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Axis Bank were the major laggards. Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
How did Asian and US markets fare?
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.45 per cent to USD 92.87 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,333.03 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
The BSE benchmark had eked out a marginal gain of 14.54 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 66,023.69 on Monday. The broader Nifty ended marginally up 0.30 points at 19,674.55.
Rupee falls against dollar
Meanwhile, the rupee continued its downward movement for the second straight day and fell by 8 paise to 83.21 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid massive selling by foreign equity investors and a firm American currency.
Subdued equity market sentiment and elevated level of crude oil prices -- hovering above USD 92 a barrel -- also put downside pressure on the Indian currency, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.19 and hit the lowest level of 83.23 against the greenback. It later traded at 83.21 against the dollar, registering a fall of 8 paise from its previous close. On Monday, the rupee declined by 19 paise to close at 83.13 against the dollar.
(With inputs from PTI)
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