Equity markets in India faced a downturn during early trade on Tuesday, influenced by weakened trends in Asian markets and a continuation of foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex registered a decline of over 500 points, settling at 71,764, while the Nifty saw a decrease of over 100 points, closing at 21,613. This dip followed profit booking by investors after a recent robust rally in the markets.

Major players such as UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, and Larsen & Toubro witnessed notable declines. However, some companies, including Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, and Power Grid, managed to secure gains amid the overall market downturn.

Raghvendra Nath, Managing Director at Ladderup Wealth Management, noted, "Since the markets have factored in all the positives in the one-sided rally over the last two months, we could see some selling pressure at record high levels."

The negative trend extended to other Asian markets, with Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all trading lower. It's worth noting that Asian, European, and US markets were closed on Monday for the New Year.

In the commodities market, the global oil benchmark Brent crude recorded a significant jump, rising by 1.65 percent to $78.31 a barrel. Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 855.80 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

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Reflecting on the performance in 2023, the BSE benchmark surged by 11,399.52 points or 18.73 percent, while the Nifty witnessed a climb of 3,626.1 points or 20 percent. The Nifty's robust 20% gain in 2023, especially in the final two months, was supported by factors such as rapid quarterly growth, expectations of US rate cuts in the first half of 2024, and consistent retail participation.