Mumbai – Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Friday as relentless foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip bank stocks dragged the markets lower.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 299.17 points to 80,684.14 in opening trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 76.75 points to 24,759.55.

From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Trent, ICICI Bank and Maruti were among the major laggards.

However, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and Bharat Electronics were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,605.20 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 2,916.14 crore, according to exchange data.

“The positive impact of the central bank's bold initiatives to boost credit growth in the economy has the potential to sustain the momentum in the market, particularly in Bank Nifty. But this momentum is unlikely to sustain in the context of persistent FII selling in the market.

“FIIs are likely to further accelerate selling since the market construct provides them the opportunity to sell aggressively. The huge short position in the market indicates that the bulls will be on the defensive,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

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