Equity markets see high volatility, Sensex falls 150 points, nifty down 37 points

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty faced heavy volatility in early trade on Monday amid selling in blue chips like Infosys and ICICI bank amid a weak trend in the Asian markets.

Fresh foreign fund outflows also dented market sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a positive note, but soon witnessed selling pressure from investors and declined 151.36 points or 0.19 per cent to 81,557.76 in the initial trade.

In tandem, the broader NSE Nifty after opening on a higher note, fell 37.45 points or 0.15 per cent to 24,640.35 in early hours.

From the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Steel were the major laggards.

In contrast, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharmaceuticals, HDFC Bank and NTPC were among the major gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai were trading in the negative territory, while Tokyo quoted higher.

"Asian stocks started the week with a cautious tone, as investors grappled with South Korea's political upheaval and awaited fresh stimulus from China," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said.

Central Bank outcomes from Australia, ECB, Canada, Switzerland and Brazil are expected this week, Jasani added.

US markets ended in a mixed note on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.41 per cent to USD 71.41 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned sellers on Friday after unabated buying for the past many days. They sold equities worth Rs 1,830.31 crore, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 56.74 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 81,709.12, while NSE Nifty dipped 30.60 points to settle at 24,677.80.