Benchmark equity indices climbed in early trade on Tuesday but later gave up all the early gains and were trading lower in line with weak Asian market cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 254.11 points to 71,569.20 in early trade. The Nifty went up by 61.35 points to 21,480.

However, later both the benchmark indices gave up all the early gains and were trading lower. The Sensex quoted 152.33 points lower at 71,168.99 while the Nifty traded down by 40.50 points to 21,375.30.

Among the Sensex firms, Nestle, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Wipro and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers.

Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.

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

The US markets ended with gains on Monday.

"The market is likely to move into a consolidation phase as the Christmas holidays and the New Year approach. A period of consolidation after the sharp run-up of the last two weeks is also desirable since it will make the market healthy," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.12 per cent to USD 78.04 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 33.51 crore on Monday after continuous buying, according to exchange data.

Snapping its three-day rally, the BSE benchmark declined 168.66 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 71,315.09 on Monday. The Nifty fell by 38 points or 0.18 per cent to 21,418.65.

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