Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early deals on Thursday in a highly volatile trade as investors turned cautious amid unabated foreign fund outflows and rising geopolitical uncertainties.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 160.24 points to 77,798.28 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 30.25 points to 24,300.70.

Later both the benchmark indices were trading between highs and lows. From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and Maruti were among the winners.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.77 per cent higher at USD 102 per barrel.

"The see-saw political game in West Asia has been going on for some time now and responding to that crude prices also have been seesawing. The market is swinging between hope and fear and this might continue until there is a definitive conclusion to the crisis," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading higher.

US markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

"On the domestic front, softer energy prices and supportive global cues are helping to alleviate near-term macro headwinds, reinforcing a constructive undertone. However, while sentiment has turned more optimistic, investors remain cautious and closely attuned to incoming developments—particularly Iran’s response and any renewed volatility in oil prices or geopolitical conditions," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,834.90 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 940.73 points or 1.22 per cent to settle at 77,958.52. The Nifty rallied 298.15 points or 1.24 per cent to end at 24,330.95.