Stock markets fall in early trade dragged down by IT counters, weak global trends

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on Wednesday pulled down by IT stocks and weak trends from global markets.

Extending its previous day's decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 271.85 points to 71,620.63. The Nifty slipped 71.35 points to 21,594.45.

Among the Sensex firms, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Power Grid were the major laggards.

Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries were among the winners.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday.

"Market has turned highly volatile with profit-booking triggered by high valuations. Even DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors) who have been consistent buyers are booking profits," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.03 per cent to USD 75.87 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,602.16 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark fell by 379.46 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 71,892.48 on Tuesday. The Nifty declined by 76.10 points or 0.35 per cent to 21,665.80.