Markets fall in early trade after four days of rally

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Tuesday after rallying in the past four days amid weak trends from global markets and foreign fund outflows.

After a record-breaking rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 297.97 points to 73,574.32 due to profit-taking. The Nifty dipped 86.05 points to 22,319.55.

Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries were the major laggards.

Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and NTPC were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading lower while Shanghai quoted in the green.

The US markets ended in the negative territory on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.18 per cent to USD 82.64 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 564.06 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Extending its rally to the fourth straight session on Monday, the BSE benchmark climbed 66.14 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at an all-time high of 73,872.29 points. The Nifty went up by 27.20 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at a lifetime peak of 22,405.60.