The Indian equity benchmark indices declined in the opening trade Thursday dragged by selling in bank, auto and financial services amid weak global cues due to delays in coronavirus vaccines in markets.

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At 9:15 am, the Sensex declined 1.21 percent, or 575.36 points to 46,834.57, while the Nifty50 index traded at 13,810.40, down 157.10 points, or 1.12 percent.

Selling in index heavyweights such as Axis Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors, and SBI among others dragged Nifty below 13,810 levels.

Broader markets contributed to the losses with Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices down 1.13 percent and 1.37 percent, respectively.

Barring Nifty Media, all the sectoral indices were trading in the red with the Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Financial Services falling the most in the early morning session.

Sun Pharma, UPL, Dr Reddy's, Tata Motors, and HDFC Bank were the Nifty50 top losers, while ONGC, Hero Motorcorp, BPCL, Asian Paints, and NTPC were the top index gainers.

Meanwhile, in Asia, equities slid on Thursday as sudden sell-off on Wall Street and delays in coronavirus vaccines shook investor optimism about an early recovery for the global economy.

MSCI's gauge of Asian ex-Japan shares slipped 1.2 percent, dragged lower by highly leveraged investors taking profits where they could to cover losses elsewhere.

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