Equity benchmark indices went lower in early trade on Wednesday amid weak global market trends and continuous foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 396.51 points to 66,062.80. The NSE Nifty declined 95.25 points to 19,638.30.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, HCL Technologies, Wipro, ITC and Tata Motors were among the major laggards.

Maruti, Reliance Industries, Power Grid and Tech Mahindra were the gainers.

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

The US markets ended mostly in the negative territory on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 92.85 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 0.85 per cent to USD 85.63 a barrel.

"Markets may see a weak start in Wednesday trade amid fall in the Asian markets after the US indices edged lower in overnight trade. The rate hike by the US Fed last week and hinting at a further rate hike has spread uncertainty across the global markets, which has sparked volatility since then.

"On the domestic front, tepid earning reports and listless action from the FIIs are seen undermining the market mood," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, had said in a pre-opening market comment.

In a highly volatile trade on Tuesday, the Sensex declined 68.36 points or 0.10 per cent to settle at 66,459.31. The Nifty fell 20.25 points or 0.10 per cent to end at 19,733.55.

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