The domestic equity benchmark indices continued to decline in early trade on Wednesday as crude oil prices that hovered near USD 100 per  barrel due to the escalating tensions between US and Iran dented investor sentiment. The offloading in IT stocks in the early deals also dragged the indices lower.

Market indices in initial trade

The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 463.57 points or 0.61 per cent at 75,114.01 in the initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 122.80 points or 0.52 per cent to 23,512.30 in the early trade.