The 30-share barometer, which had gained 54.95 points in the previous session, fell by 130.56 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 18,643.68 in the first few minutes of trading led by banking, information technology and oil and gas sector stocks.

Top Nifty losers in trade were Jaiprakash Associates, Kotak Bank and Cairn India. Stocks that gained in trade were Hindalco, HCL Tech and Maruti.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 35.80 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 5,631.85. Brokers said selling by funds amid a mixed trend on Asian bourses mainly influenced the trading sentiment here. In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 1.18 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei Index edged was up by 1.42 per cent in early trade.

With inputs from PTI