Sensex tumbles 785 points in early trade tracking weak Asian markets; Nifty falls below 17,000

Mumbai: Equity markets opened the trade on a lower note on Monday, extending the previous day's fall, with the Sensex tanking 785 points in early trade, mirroring an extremely weak trend in Asian markets.

Also, unabated foreign fund outflows and selling in index majors Reliance Industries, Infosys and TCS added to the weak sentiment.

The BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 785 points lower at 56,412.14. The NSE Nifty declined 243.35 points to 16,928.60.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, Titan, TCS, Asian Paints and Infosys were the major laggards in early trade.

In contrast, ICICI Bank and Maruti were the gainers.

On Friday, the Sensex tanked 714.53 points or 1.23 per cent to settle at 57,197.15 and the Nifty declined 220.65 points or 1.27 per cent to 17,171.95.

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

Stocks in the US had also ended sharply lower on Friday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.88 per cent to USD 103.58 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth Rs 2,461.72 crore on Friday, according to stock exchange data.

"US markets fell by more than 2 per cent on Friday while European markets also fell on Friday. Asian markets are trading in the red in Monday's trade," said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities.