The Sensex fell nearly 70 points in early trade on Wednesday, mirroring losses in index mainstays Maruti, M&M, and Kotak Mahindra Bank despite a favourable trend in Asian markets.

The BSE Sensex slipped 69.26 points to 58,067.10. The NSE Nifty dropped 37.45 points to 17,308.

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Among Sensex components, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, and Nestle were early deal laggards.

The top gainers, on the other hand, were Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank.

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Markets in Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong were trading higher in Asia. On Tuesday, the US markets finished lower.

“Strong Asian market cues are expected to help key benchmarks advance further in early trade Wednesday, despite a fall in the US markets in overnight trades,” said Prashanth Tapse – Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Limited.

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“Nifty is likely to trade on the front foot amidst renewed optimism in the backdrop of the return of foreign investors in Indian equities, with FIIs buying equities to the tune of Rs 825 crore on Tuesday,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Sensex closed 20.86 points, or 0.04% higher, at 58,136.36. The Nifty closed at 17,345.45, up 5.40 points or 0.03%.

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According to exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors continued to be net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday, purchasing shares worth Rs 825.18 crore.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark, Brent crude fell 0.3% to USD 100.24 per barrel. In early trade on Wednesday, the rupee fell 27 paise to 78.80 against the dollar, reflecting a flat trend in domestic equities.