Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Tuesday after rallying sharply in the past five sessions, amid profit-taking in IT stocks and weak trends from Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 226.93 points to 73,101.01. The Nifty declined 68.25 points to 22,029.20.

In the last five session, the BSE benchmark rallied 1,972.72 points or 2.76 per cent. The Nifty jumped 584.45 points or 2.71 per cent.

Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.

IT stocks fell on profit-taking after rallying sharply in the past two sessions.

Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting lower.

The US markets were closed on Monday on account of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The Sensex jumped 759.49 points or 1.05 per cent to settle at a new closing high of 73,327.94 on Monday. During the day, it zoomed 833.71 points or 1.14 per cent to reach its all-time peak of 73,402.16. The Nifty climbed 202.90 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at a new closing high of 22,097.45. During the day, it surged 221 points or 1 per cent to reach a lifetime intra-day high of 22,115.55.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to USD 78.29 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,085.72 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

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