Sensex, Nifty Decline On Mixed Global Cues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares traded slightly lower in early trade on Tuesday, with sentiment dented by mixed global cues and rising oil prices amid heightened geopolitical tensions.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down325 points, or half a percent, at 72,507 while the broader NSE Nifty index was down 74 points, or 0.3 percent, at 22,023.

Bharti Airtel dropped 1 percent on news it is preparing to hike telecom tariffs post Lok Sabha elections.

Paytm declined 1.6 percent after denying reports of layoffs.

ICICI Securities fell about 2 percent after Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management voted against the proposed merger of the company with ICICI Bank, and supported its delisting.

Maruti Suzuki shed 1.3 percent after it acquired a 6.44 percent stake in Delhi NCR-based artificial intelligence startup Amlgo Labs.

Tech Mahindra was down half a percent as it announced the merger of two U.S.-based subsidiaries.

IIFL Finance slumped 4.6 percent and JM Financial tumbled 3.7 percent. The RBI has initiated a special audit for breaches by the companies.