Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty drifted lower in early trade on Monday amid rising crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 284.85 points to 77,717.05 during initial trading. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 69.25 points to 24,297.05.

From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and State Bank of India were the biggest laggards.

Bharat Electronics and Titan were the only winners.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.43 per cent higher at USD 88.86 per barrel.

“Crude oil remains the principal concern, with Brent holding near USD 88 a barrel after renewed US warnings against Iran pushed prices higher on Friday, keeping the geopolitical risk premium firmly embedded in energy markets,” Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth, a research analyst firm, said.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded higher.

US markets ended lower on Friday.

“Indian equity markets are expected to remain range-bound with a cautious bias as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to restrain risk appetite,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 508.12 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the Sensex was down 70.71 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 78,009.25. The Nifty dipped 29.85 points, or 0.12 per cent, to end at 24,366.