Markets trade lower in early trade; Sensex falls over 444 points

MUMBAI: Benchmark indices began the trade on a bearish note on Tuesday and traded lower amid weak global market trends and rising crude prices.

Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE benchmark tumbled 444.53 points to 62,390.07. The broader NSE Nifty declined 123.15 points to 18,577.90.

Among the Sensex pack, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Infosys, Dr Reddy's, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, Nestle and Bharti Airtel were the major laggards.

IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were among the winners.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded lower, while Tokyo quoted in the green.

Wall Street had ended in the negative territory on Monday.

The BSE benchmark dipped 33.9 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 62,834.60 on Monday. The Nifty had eked out marginal gains and ended 4.95 points or 0.03 per cent higher at 18,701.05.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.57 per cent higher at USD 83.15 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,139.07 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.