Equity benchmark indices were subdued during early hours on Monday due to mixed global cues with FMCG and pharma stocks under pressure.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 45 points or 0.12 per cent at 38,312 while the Nifty 50 lost by 21 points or 0.18 per cent at 11,313.
Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty FMCG down by 0.8 per cent, pharma by 0.5 per cent and IT by 0.4 per cent.
Among stocks, UPL dropped by 3 per cent to Rs 492.90 per cent, Mahindra and Mahindra by 2 per cent, ITC by 1.6 per cent and GAIL by 1.3 per cent.
The other prominent losers were ONGC, Bajaj Auto, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel.
However, Bharti Infratel gained by 4.2 per cent to Rs 223.95 per share. Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India along with Tata Motors and Tata Steel traded with a positive bias.
Meanwhile, Asian shares were on the defensive as investors grappled with sky-high valuations against the backdrop of a global economy in the grip of a coronavirus-induced recession.
China's blue-chip index CSI slipped 0.3 per cent and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2 per cent but South Korea added 0.7 per cent. That left MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan up marginally after two straight days of losses.
( With inputs from ANI )
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