<p>Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Wednesday amid a sluggish trend in Asian markets and cautious approach adopted by investors ahead of the US Fed interest rate decision.</p><p>Also, retail inflation rising to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November added to the weak trend in equities.</p><p>The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 130.21 points to 69,420.82. The Nifty dipped 29.05 points to 20,877.35.</p><p>Among the Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.</p><p>NTPC, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and Larsen & Toubro were among the major gainers.</p><p>In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower while Tokyo quoted in the positive territory.</p><p>The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.</p><p>Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.20 per cent to USD 73.09 a barrel.</p><p>Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 76.86 crore, according to exchange data.</p><p>Snapping its declining trend, retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November on firming food prices, including vegetables and cereals, though it remains within the RBI's comfort zone of less than 6 per cent.</p><p>"From the global perspective, tonight's Fed message is important in setting the global market trend. Markets will wait for the Fed chief's message before taking a decisive turn," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.</p><p>After a two-day rally, the BSE benchmark fell by 377.50 points or 0.54 per cent to settle at 69,551.03 on Tuesday. The Nifty declined 90.70 points or 0.43 per cent to 20,906.40.</p>
<p>Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Wednesday amid a sluggish trend in Asian markets and cautious approach adopted by investors ahead of the US Fed interest rate decision.</p><p>Also, retail inflation rising to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November added to the weak trend in equities.</p><p>The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 130.21 points to 69,420.82. The Nifty dipped 29.05 points to 20,877.35.</p><p>Among the Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.</p><p>NTPC, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and Larsen & Toubro were among the major gainers.</p><p>In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower while Tokyo quoted in the positive territory.</p><p>The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.</p><p>Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.20 per cent to USD 73.09 a barrel.</p><p>Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 76.86 crore, according to exchange data.</p><p>Snapping its declining trend, retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November on firming food prices, including vegetables and cereals, though it remains within the RBI's comfort zone of less than 6 per cent.</p><p>"From the global perspective, tonight's Fed message is important in setting the global market trend. Markets will wait for the Fed chief's message before taking a decisive turn," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.</p><p>After a two-day rally, the BSE benchmark fell by 377.50 points or 0.54 per cent to settle at 69,551.03 on Tuesday. The Nifty declined 90.70 points or 0.43 per cent to 20,906.40.</p>