Markets open in red, Nifty slides below 10,750

New Delhi: Markets opened in red on Tuesday dragged by losses in financial stocks in tandem with global cues.

The BSE Sensex fell 243.66 points or 0.66 percent to 36,450.03 in early trade while the NSE Nifty dropped 71.15 points or 0.66 percent to 10,731.55.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS, ITC, Ultrachem, Asian Paint, Nestle, rising upto 0.78 percent. On the other hand, major losers were HDFC, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finserve, ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M and Powergrid, falling upto 2.50 percent.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Monday, purchasing equities worth Rs 221.76 crore, provisional exchange data showed.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex ended 99.36 points or 0.27 per cent, higher at 36,693.69. Similarly, the NSE Nifty closed 34.65 points, or 1.15 per cent, up at 10,802.70 -- losing about 80 points from the day's high.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.2%. Japan`s Nikkei retreated from a one-month high touched on Monday, dropping 0.8%. A firm dollar put pressure on the Aussie and kiwi, a Reuters report said.

Spot gold sat below recent peaks at $1.797.30 per ounce and U.S. Treasuries were firm. The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. government debt was $0.6168%, Reuters added.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.06 per cent to USD 41.84 per barrel.