Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday after a two-day rally as investors turned cautious ahead of the Union Budget presentation on Sunday. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 343.67 points to 82,001.01 during initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty edged lower by 94.2 points to 25,248.55.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Maruti declined nearly 3 per cent after its December quarter earnings failed to cheer investors. Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday posted 4 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,879 crore for the December quarter FY26, hit by one-time provision of Rs 594 crore on account of the new Labour Codes. Asian Paints, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the laggards.