Thursday: Stock markets decline for fourth day in a row in early trade

New Delhi: Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty edged lower in early deals on Thursday due to surging crude oil prices amid escalating tensions in the West Asia.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 230.95 points to 76,521.02 during initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 57.15 points to 23,937.

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From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, NTPC and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

Trent and Eternal were the only winners from the pack.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, quoted 2.27 per cent higher at USD 96.20 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 819.20 crore on Wednesday after a day's breather, according to exchange data.

Investor sentiment remain fragile as escalating tensions in the Middle East fuel a fresh surge in global oil prices and weigh on risk appetite, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

"Markets were rattled after Yemen's Houthi rebels reportedly attacked two Saudi oil tankers, opening a new front in the regional conflict and raising fears of further disruptions to crude supplies," Ponmudi added.

In Asian markets, South Korea's KOSPI jumped 3.15 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were also trading higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted lower.

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US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Sensex tanked 715.06 points, or 0.92 per cent, to settle at 76,755.05. The Nifty declined 191.45 points, or 0.79 per cent, to end at 23,996.25.

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