Markets decline in early deals; trade marginally higher later

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Thursday amid weak trends from global markets but soon turned positive and were trading marginally higher.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 102.78 points to 81,682.78 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 34.85 points to 25,017.50.

However, recovering the early lost ground, the BSE benchmark gauge later traded 64.07 points up at 81,846.33 while the Nifty quoted 17.40 points higher at 25,070.15.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and Power Grid were the biggest laggards.

Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory.

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,347.53 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.11 per cent to USD 78.74 a barrel.

"The Nifty is expected to face choppy waters ahead, with uncertainty in market direction. The downturn in US tech stocks, particularly Nvidia's recent decline despite strong earnings, has contributed to this caution," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Rising for the tenth straight session on Wednesday, the NSE Nifty went up by 34.60 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at a new closing high of 25,052.35. The benchmark surged 111.85 points or 0.44 per cent to hit a fresh intra-day all-time peak of 25,129.60.

Extending its winning run to the seventh day in a row, the BSE benchmark climbed 73.80 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 81,785.56.