New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices halted their three-day gain on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling over 317 points in early trade, amid weak global market trends and persistent foreign fund outflows. Firm crude oil prices in the international market also put pressure on equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 317.41 points lower at 52,843.87. The NSE Nifty dipped 99.65 points to 15,732.40.

Among the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, HDFC and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards in early trade.

Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.

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

The US markets also ended lower on Monday.

"Markets are likely to struggle in early Tuesday trades, as most of the other Asian gauges have retreated after the recent gains, while the US markets also closed lower in the overnight trade," said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.12 per cent to USD 116.38 per barrel.

The Sensex jumped 433.30 points or 0.82 per cent to settle at 53,161.28 on Monday. The Nifty also gained 132.80 points or 0.85 percent to 15,832.05.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,278.42 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.

(With PTI inputs)