Markets open lower after 2-day rally; Sensex tumbles 667 points in early trade

Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) Equity markets halted their two-day rally in early trade on Friday, with the Sensex tumbling nearly 667 points, reflecting weak global markets and selling in index majors HDFC Bank and TCS.

Continuous foreign fund outflows also dented sentiments.

The BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 666.85 points lower at 57,244.83. The Nifty also declined 196.55 points to 17,196.05.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, M&M, Dr Reddy's, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India and Maruti Suzuki declined the most in early trade. In contrast, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid and Tata Steel were the gainers.

The Sensex zoomed 874.18 points or 1.53 per cent to finish at 57,911.68 on Thursday. The Nifty rallied 256.05 points or 1.49 per cent to 17,392.60.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were trading lower in mid-session deals.

Stocks in the US had ended lower on Thursday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1 per cent to USD 107.25 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth Rs 713.69 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.