Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Thursday dragged by IT stocks and continuous foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 227.72 points to 70,832.59. The Nifty dipped 55.7 points to 21,398.25.

Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra fell nearly 4 per cent after the company on Wednesday reported a 60 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 510.4 crore in the December quarter.

HCL Technologies, Infosys, Wipro, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the other major laggards.

IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, and the State Bank of India were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting in the positive territory while Seoul and Tokyo traded lower.

The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,934.93 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.36 per cent to USD 80.33 a barrel.

"Volatility is expected due to the January F&O contracts expiry. Negative catalysts include FIIs selling, WTI oil spiking, and diminishing prospects of the US rate cuts," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE benchmark jumped 689.76 points, or 0.98 per cent, to settle at 71,060.31 on Wednesday.

The NSE Nifty ended 215.15 points, or 1.01 per cent, higher at 21,453.95.

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