Markets fall after early gains tracking weak global equities

Equity benchmarks gave up early gains on Wednesday and were later trading lower in tandem with weak global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex, which climbed 82.36 points to 59,113.66 in early trade, later fell in negative territory. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty had advanced 27.9 points to 17,605.40 in initial trade but failed to carry forward the momentum.

Both the benchmark indices were trading lower later, with the Sensex falling 146.56 points to 58,884.74 and the Nifty declining by 43.95 points to 17,533.55.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and State Bank of India were among the major laggards.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, ITC and Power Grid were the gainers.

In Asia, markets in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong quoted lower, while Seoul traded in the green in mid-session deals.

The Wall Street had ended lower on Tuesday.

The BSE benchmark climbed 257.43 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 59,031.30 on Tuesday. The Nifty advanced 86.80 points or 0.50 per cent to 17,577.50.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.40 per cent to USD 99.82 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 563 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.