Stock market benchmark indices began the trade on a positive note on Tuesday but failed to carry forward the winning momentum due to the emergence of profit-taking amid weak trends in global equities in view of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 117.63 points to 81,815.74 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 27.1 points to 25,037.70.

However, later both the benchmark indices faced profit-taking after a continuous rally and were trading lower. The Sensex quoted 63.59 points lower at 81,626.12, while the Nifty traded 25.60 points down at 24,982.25.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle and UltraTech Cement were the biggest gainers.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel and Asian Paints were among the laggards.

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

The US markets ended mostly lower on Monday.

"There are both headwinds and tailwinds for the market now. Headwinds are coming from the escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine. Brent crude has shot up above $81. The strongest tailwind comes from the expected rate cuts by the Fed which will spill over to other central banks including the RBI," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 483.36 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.29 per cent to USD 81.19 a barrel.

Rising for the fifth straight day on Monday, the BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 611.90 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 81,698.11. The Nifty soared 187.45 points or 0.76 per cent to 25,010.60, registering gains for the eighth session in a row.

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