Markets also declined as IT stocks slipped. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on August 18 amid bearish global cues and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Markets also declined as IT stocks slipped.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 297.62 points to 64,853.40. The NSE Nifty dipped 88.75 points to 19,276.50.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, ICICI Bank and ITC were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory.

The U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.13% to $84.23 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,510.86 crore on Thursday after a day’s breather, according to exchange data. The BSE benchmark had declined 388.40 points or 0.59% to settle at 65,151.02 on Thursday. The Nifty slipped 99.75 points or 0.51% to end at 19,365.25.