MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday as renewed tensions in West Asia triggered a rebound in crude oil prices.
Weak trends in the global markets and foreign fund outflows also dented investors' sentiment during the initial trading, market analysts said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 226.60 points to 77,028.56 during initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 120.40 points to 24,053.55.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Infosys, Tata Steel, InterGlobe Aviation, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services and Titan were among the major laggards.
HDFC Bank climbed over 2 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel were also among the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 2.33 per cent higher at USD 90.19 per barrel.
"This week’s trading begins with the market facing a few headwinds. From the global equity market perspective, the sentiments have turned slightly negative following the Fed chief Kevin Warsh’s statement that if inflation persists at rates higher than the Fed’s long-term target, 'we have work to do'.
"The market has taken this as an indication of a rate hike in the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting scheduled for September 15-16. The consequent rise in bond yields is negative for equity markets. Another headwind is the renewed escalation of tensions between the US and Iran pushing the Brent crude above USD 90," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded lower.
US markets ended in negative territory on Friday.
"Indian equity markets are expected to trade with a cautious bias as renewed US-Iran military escalation revives concerns over global energy supplies, triggering a rebound in crude oil prices and prompting a broader risk-off tone across Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi were both down more than 1 per cent in early trade, reflecting investors' renewed focus on geopolitical risks," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,039.80 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
On Friday, the Sensex climbed 330.92 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 77,264.51. The Nifty settled 84.80 points, or 0.35 per cent, higher at 24,175.65.