Sensex down by 44 points at 60,814; Nifty below 18,100

Equity benchmarks went lower in early trade on Friday amid weak trend in the US markets and decline in shares of index major Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 107.59 points to 60,750.84 in early trade despite a positive beginning. The broader NSE Nifty went lower by 29 points to 18,078.85.

From the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Asian Paints, Titan, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Maruti and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever fell nearly 3 per cent in initial trade even after reporting a 7.9 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at ₹2,481 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022.

IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors and State Bank of India were the gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded in the green.

Markets in the US had ended lower on Thursday.

The Sensex had declined 187.31 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 60,858.43 on Thursday. The Nifty had dipped 57.50 points or 0.32 per cent to end at 18,107.85.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.55 per cent to USD 86.63 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets and they bought shares worth ₹399.98 crore, according to exchange data.