MUMBAI: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty drifted lower in early deals on Thursday, tracking weak trends in global markets amid continuing uncertainty in West Asia and relentless foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 229.69 points to 74,139.32 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 66.30 points to 23,339.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Trent, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel were among the biggest laggards.
Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,616.56 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"In the near-term, headwinds are stronger for the market than tailwinds. The continuing uncertainty in West Asia and the big and sustained FPI selling are the strong headwinds which are weighing on the market," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The bullish undertone of the booming markets in the US, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan suggests more FPI selling in India, he added.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.97 per cent lower at USD 96.86 per barrel.
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 lower on Wednesday.
"While the renewal of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has provided some relief to regional risk sentiment, broader concerns remain unresolved.
Continued hostilities between the United States and Iran, including reports of retaliatory Iranian actions following recent US strikes, have kept uncertainty elevated and limited any meaningful improvement in global risk appetite," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.
The absence of tangible progress towards a diplomatic resolution continues to leave markets highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines, particularly given the implications for energy prices and global trade flows, he added.
On Wednesday, the Sensex dropped 303.67 points, or 0.41 per cent, to settle at 74,346.17. The Nifty declined 77.95 points, or 0.33 per cent to end at 23,405.60.