Markets fall in early trade

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on Thursday, mirroring weak trends in most of the Asian markets but recovered later and were trading in the green.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 126.78 points to 55,270.75 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty fell by 36.95 points to 16,483.90.

However, later markets recovered and the Sensex was trading 56.67 points higher at 55,454.20, while the Nifty climbed 22.50 points to 16,543.35.

Among the Sensex constituents, Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Asian Paints were the major laggards in early trade.

IndusInd Bank, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the firms trading in the green.

In Asia, markets in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong



Kong were quoting lower, while Seoul traded in the green.

The US markets had ended higher on Wednesday.

The BSE benchmark had rallied 629.91 points or 1.15 per cent to settle at 55,397.53 on Wednesday. The Nifty climbed 180.30 points or 1.10 per cent to 16,520.85.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.66 per cent to USD 106.22 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers on Wednesday, picking up shares worth Rs 1,780.94 crore, as per exchange data.

"FIIs have turned net buyers of local shares to the tune of Rs 1,781 crore on Wednesday, extending the buying momentum for the third straight session," said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.