Markets trade lower in early trade, Sensex falls 385 points

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New Delhi: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday amid a weak trend in global markets and a sell-off in IT counters. The 30-share BSE benchmark index fell 385.38 points to 61,413.65 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty declined 115.35 points to 18,299.55.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Infosys, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and UltraTech Cement were among the winners. ()

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai were trading lower, while Hong Kong was quoted in the green. The US markets had ended sharply lower on Thursday. ()

The BSE benchmark Sensex had tanked 878.88 points or 1.40 percent to settle at 61,799.03 on Thursday. The Nifty plummeted 245.40 points or 1.32 percent to end at 18,414.90.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.05 percent to USD 81.17 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 710.74 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.