Indian equity markets saw a sharp decline in early trade on Tuesday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty both witnessing losses. The fall was largely attributed to investor caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and ongoing selling in major blue-chip stocks such as Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

The Sensex, which tracks 30 of the largest and most actively traded stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), dropped by 350.98 points to 81,397.59 in early trade. Similarly, the NSE Nifty, which represents the National Stock Exchange, fell by 100.8 points to 24,567.45.