The Sensex fell more than 200 points in early trade on Wednesday, reflecting losses in index heavyweights Infosys, TCS, and HDFC amid a mixed trend in global markets.

In the first hour of trading, the 30-share index fell 212.65 points, or 0.37%, to 57,904.44. Likewise, the Nifty dropped 67.55 points, or 0.39%, to 17,257.35.

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Tech Mahindra was the Sensex pack’s biggest loss, down more than 1%, followed by Infosys, TCS, Bajaj Finance, and HCL Tech. On the other hand, NTPC, Kotak Bank, PowerGrid, M&M, and Axis Bank were among the gainers.

The 30-share equity benchmark slid 166.33 points, or 0.29%, to 58,117.09 in the previous session, while the Nifty fell 43.35 points, or 0.25%, to 17,324.90.

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According to stock exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, selling shares worth Rs 763.18 crore.

The Omicron variant, now in 77 countries, is confirmed to be far more infectious than the now dominant Delta variant. But there is no clarity yet on how virulent Omicron would turn out, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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“In the coming days markets are likely to be impacted more by the message from the US Fed. If the Fed turns more hawkish and indicates 2 rate hikes in 2022, that would be negative for the markets which had factored in one rate hike and faster tapering of the asset purchases.

“But the Fed is unlikely to sound hawkish in the context of the uncertainty triggered by Omicron. Markets are likely to consolidate around 17,350 Nifty levels,” he noted.

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Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong were up in mid-session trade, while Seoul was down. The overnight session on Wall Street’s stock markets finished on a dismal note.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, the international oil standard, slipped 0.95% to USD 73 per barrel. In early trade, the rupee falls 21 paise to 76.09 against the US dollar.