Benchmark equity indices pared their opening gains and declined in early trade on Tuesday, dragged down by index major HDFC twins.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 146.79 points to 62,198.92 even after beginning the trade on a firm note. The NSE Nifty dipped 32.15 points to 18,366.70.

Among the Sensex firms, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and ITC were the biggest laggards.

Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Asian Paints and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major gainers.

In Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong markets were trading in the green.

The US market had ended with gains on Monday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53 per cent to USD 75.63 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Monday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,685.29 crore, according to exchange data.

The Sensex had climbed 317.81 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 62,345.71 on Monday. The broader NSE Nifty gained 84.05 points or 0.46 per cent to end at 18,398.85.

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