Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday dragged by pharma stocks and relentless foreign fund outflows.

US H-1B visa fee concerns and a weak trend in global markets also added to the bearish trend in domestic equities.

"Investor attention will squarely be on the domestic pharma sector after the Trump Administration announced a 100 per cent tariff on imports of branded or patented pharmaceutical products effective October 1. This tariff action comes close on the heels of the steep hike in US H-1B visa fees, which has already triggered heavy selling in IT sector stocks over the past few sessions," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 329.66 points to 80,830.02 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 105.7 points to 24,785.15.

From the Sensex firms, Sun Pharma dropped over 3 per cent. Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Power Grid, HCL Tech, and Tata Steel were also among the laggards.

However, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, ITC and Trent were the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted lower.

US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,995.42 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

"The sustained FII selling may keep the market under pressure," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.17 per cent to USD 69.54 a barrel.

On Thursday, the Sensex tanked 555.95 points or 0.68 per cent to settle at 81,159.68. The Nifty tumbled 166.05 points or 0.66 per cent to 24,890.85. PTI SUM TRB

Tariff on branded pharmaceuticals prompts sectoral sell-off and intensified foreign fund outflows hitting equity markets. A tariff on branded or patented pharmaceutical imports together with a hike in H 1B visa fees triggered sectoral selling in pharma and IT, while sustained foreign institutional investor outflows amplified downward pressure on benchmark equity indices, producing notable early-session declines; broader Asian and US market weakness and modestly firmer global oil prices accompanied the move, with individual large-cap stocks reflecting mixed laggard and gainer patterns.