Benchmark indices started the trade on a weak note on Thursday, dragged down by index majors Reliance Industries, IT and banking counters amid an overall weak global markets trend.
The BSE benchmark Sensex fell 898.61 points to 58,638.46 in early trade. Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined 273.75 points to 17,485.55.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and ICICI Bank were among the major laggards.
Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading lower, while Shanghai quoted in the green in mid-session deals.
The US markets had ended lower on Wednesday.
The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 1,564.45 points or 2.70 per cent to settle at 59,537.07 on Tuesday. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 446.40 points or 2.58 per cent to 17,759.30.
Equity markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
"Domestic equities are likely to drift lower in early trades Thursday, tracking weakness in the Asian pack after the US markets overnight ended weaker," Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.84 per cent to USD 96.49 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 4,165.86 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.
