The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday started trade on a weaker note.
At 9.40 am, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 252 points to 60,779. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,857, down 72 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, ITC, HUL, L&T, Sun Pharma, HDFC, TCS were trading in the red. On the flip side, Reliance, Maruti, Tata Steel, TechM, M&M, and Airtel emerged winners in early morning trade.
Among individual stocks, shares of Torrent Power soared 8 per cent after the company reported 88 per cent YoY growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 694.54 crore in Q3FY23. Besides, shares of Eicher Motors surged 3 per cent after it posted better-than-expected December quarter results.
In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices slipped up to 0.5 per cent.
Sectorwise, Nifty IT index was the worst hit as it declined up to 1 per cent, while the Nifty Media and Nifty Metal indices were off to a positive start.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 600 points to settle at 61,032. On the other hand, the Nifty50 gained 159 points to end at 17,930.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 12 paise to 82.90 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a strong American currency after the US inflation data for January stoked worries that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer. A muted trend in domestic equities and firm crude oil prices further dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.90 against the dollar, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close. In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.78 against the dollar.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.70 per cent to $84.98 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,305.30 crore, according to exchange data.