The market may edge lower in early trade tracking weak Asian stocks.

Key benchmark indices eked out small gains on Tuesday, 10 April 2012 on reports the monsoon rains, crucial to farm output, will arrive in time this year. The BSE Sensex advanced 21.70 points or 0.13% to settle at 17,243.84, its highest closing level since 4 April 2012.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 328.66 crore on Tuesday, 10 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. FIIs had sold shares worth Rs 269.43 crore on Monday, 9 April 2012.

Bharti Airtel is reportedly in advanced discussions with US chipmaker Qualcomm to buy its fourth-generation licences for about Rs 6,000 crore, an acquisition that will allow the country's largest telecom firm to quickly launch 4G services in the key markets of Delhi and Mumbai. Fourth-generation, or 4G, services offer users Internet access at three times the speed of 3G and require broadband airwaves.

US stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, building on a four-session series of declines, as worries over rising borrowing costs for European countries weighed on investor sentiment ahead of the start of earnings season.