Benchmark indices fall in early trade after three-day rally

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks fell in early trade on Friday, halting their three-day rally, amid a largely weak trend in other Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 101.03 points to 62,171.65 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 24.20 points to 18,459.90.

From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, Nestle, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Power Grid and ITC were among the major laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and NTPC were among the winners.

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

Wall Street was closed for a holiday on Thursday.

“US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. Asian markets are trading mixed in the early Friday trade as investors are looking for fresh news from the US region after yesterday’s holiday,” said Mohit Nigam, Fund Manager & Head – PMS, Hem Securities.

The 30-share BSE benchmark rallied 762.10 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 62,272.68, its record closing peak on Thursday. The Nifty jumped 216.85 points or 1.19 per cent to end at a record high of 18,484.10.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.23 per cent higher at USD 85.54 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 1,231.98 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.