Indian equities were trading lower on Monday with the BSE Sensex falling over 600 points while Nifty hovering near 10,500 mark, tracking weak global cues and the Exit polls predicting that the Congress looked set to unseat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the three key states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Dragged by sharp selling, index heavyweight Reliance Industries and oil stocks were reeling under pressure with the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index and Nifty Energy index losing 2.14 per cent and 2.56 per cent, respectively.

Paring early losses, BSE Oil & Gas index was currently trading at 12864.4, down by 103.62 points or by 0.8 per cent.

Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries declined as much as 4.33 per cent in intra-day trade to Rs 1084.15 apiece on the BSE, after opening lower at Rs 1112.65. On the National Stock Exchange, stock of company was trading at Rs 1,090.00, down 3.86 per cent.

From the BSE Oil & Gas space, state-owned Oil India tanked 3.36 per cent in intra-day trade to hit a 52-week low of Rs 172.15 on the BSE.

In a similar trend, shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) hit a 52-week low of Rs 135.70, down 3 per cent over the concerns of rising crude prices after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia decided to cut oil production.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Friday teamed up with Russia to cut oil production from January by 0.8 million barrels per day from October levels, which is likely to push up oil prices which could lead the market lower.

Meanwhile, state-controlled oil companies Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum have unveiled plan to open nearly 4,500 fuel outlets across Gujarat, according to PTI. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) plan to expand in tier II and III cities as well as rural areas, interior areas and remote areas as they lack presence in these geographies, said the agency report.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar