Stock markets decline in early trade; Sensex down 300 points

New Delhi: Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday as the prolonged US-Iran impasse weighed heavily on investors' sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 298.75 points to 77,760.21 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 74.20 points to 24,321.90.

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From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, InterGlobe Aviation, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid and ITC were among the major laggards.

Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports and Bajaj Finance were among the winners.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.06 percent higher at USD 87.12 per barrel.

The unresolved US-Iran standoff continues to underpin crude oil prices, leaving oil-importing economies such as India more vulnerable to inflationary pressures and currency volatility, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

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In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower.

US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 510.69 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, fag-end buying helped the Sensex end the session in the positive territory.

The 30-share index settled 113.61 points, or 0.15 percent, higher at 78,079.96. The Nifty was marginally down 40.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to end at 24,395.85, registering its third day of decline.

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