New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on Friday due to weak trends in global markets and soaring crude oil prices.

Foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiments.

Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 320.63 points to 65,308.61. The Nifty declined 106 points to 19,518.70.

Among the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever traded over 1 per cent lower after the company reported a marginal decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,657 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 amid subdued rural demand and heightened competitive intensity.

HCL Technologies, ITC, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were among the other major laggards.

Nestle, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 0.90 per cent to USD 93.21 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,093.47 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

"The US 10-year yield hovering around 5 per cent continues to be a headwind for equity markets. The volatile situation in West Asia, though being largely ignored by the market now, can pose additional near-term challenges," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark fell 247.78 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 65,629.24 on Thursday. The Nifty declined 46.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 19,624.70.

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