Sensex drops over 150 points in early trade; Nifty slips below 17,700

Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack shedding around 1%

A man reacts as he watches share prices on a digital screen outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai, September 24, 2021. BSE Sensex on September 24 crossed the 60,000 mark for the first time on the back of gains in tech and property stocks

Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 150 points in early trade on September 30, tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid sustained foreign fund outflow.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 178.60 points or 0.30% lower at 59,234.67. Similarly, the Nifty declined 49.15 points or 0.28% to 17,662.15.

Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 1%, followed by PowerGrid, Kotak Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Steel, L&T, NTPC, Bharti Airtel and HUL were among the gainers.

In the previous session, the 30-share index closed 254.33 points or 0.43% lower at 59,413.27, and Nifty declined 37.30 points or 0.21% to 17,711.30.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,896.02 crore on September 29, as per exchange data.

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

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.27% to $77.88 per barrel.