Equity benchmarks fell in early trade on Monday amid a weak trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 495.53 points to 61,686.14 after a weak beginning. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 147.15 points to 18,349.45.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement were the major laggards.

ITC and Dr Reddy's were trading in the green.

In Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.

The US markets had ended in the negative territory on Friday.

"Asian shares dipped on Monday while the dollar drifted higher at the start of a hectic week, as markets awaited a flurry of rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and others," said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities.

The Sensex had ended 389.01 points or 0.62 per cent lower at 62,181.67 on Friday. The Nifty had declined 112.75 points or 0.61 per cent to 18,496.60.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.71 per cent to USD 76.64 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 158.01 crore, according to exchange data.

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