Sensex falls nearly 150 points in early trade; Nifty slips below 17,780

Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 150 points in opening trade on January 5 tracking weakness in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, TCS and Infosys amid a mixed trend in global markets.

After opening on a positive note, key stock indices turned negative in early deals.

The 30-share index was trading 147.95 points or 0.25% lower at 59,933.31 in early trade. Similarly, the Nifty slipped 30.40 points or 0.17% to 17,774.85.

HCL Tech was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, TCS and Reliance.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 59,855.93, clocking a gain of 672.71 points or 1.14%. Likewise, the NSE Nifty rose 179.55 points or 1.02% to end at 17,805.25.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading with losses in mid-session deals, while Tokyo was in the green.

Stock exchanges in the U.S. ended on a mixed note in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.39% to $79.69 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, as they bought shares worth ₹1,273.86 crore on January 4, according to stock exchange data.