Markets trade flat: Sensex above 65,900, Nifty nears 19,600

Benchmark equity indices fell in early trade on Tuesday despite a firm beginning as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines ahead of the key events -- RBI's monetary policy and the US inflation data -- due later this week.

Continuous foreign fund outflows played spoilsport for the domestic markets.

In early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 5.42 points to 65,948.06. The NSE Nifty went up 2.40 points to 19,599.70. Later, the BSE benchmark fell by 93.4 points to 65,860.08 and the Nifty skidded 21.05 points to 19,576.25.

From the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Nestle, HDFC Bank, Infosys, JSW Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards.

Titan, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, NTPC, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major gainers.

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

The US markets ended in the positive territory on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to $85.49 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,892.77 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

"While global cues will continue to dictate trends, investors would be watchful of the two key catalysts - RBI's monetary policy and US inflation data on Thursday," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 232.23 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 65,953.48 on Monday. The Nifty advanced 80.30 points or 0.41 per cent to end at 19,597.30.