Equity markets slip after two-day rally; Sensex drops 111 points in early trade

Equity benchmark indices opened lower on Wednesday, breaking a two-day winning streak, as selling pressure in Tata Motors and weak trends in Asian markets weighed on sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 111.85 points to 81,809.44, while the

NSE Nifty

declined by 39.2 points to 25,001.90.
Among the laggards on the Sensex were Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Titan, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel,

Tech Mahindra

,

UltraTech Cement

, and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, ITC, and

Hindustan Unilever

registered gains.
Asian markets, including Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, were trading in the red, following weak global cues. In contrast, US markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.
On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹2,208.23 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.59% to USD 69.60 per barrel.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE Sensex had gained 361.75 points, or 0.44%, to close at 81,921.29, while the NSE Nifty advanced 104.70 points, or 0.42%, to settle at 25,041.10.