Gains in IT and energy shares were offset by losses in financial andpharmaceutical stocks Domestic stock markets started the week on a volatile note with benchmark indices fluctuating between gains and losses in early trade following a positive start.

The S-P BSE Sensex index started the session with a gain of 146.44 points - or 0.38 per cent - at 38,275.34, and shed 469.64 points from there to hit 37,769.44 at the weakest level recorded in morning deals.

The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark was also rangebound, moving between 11,097.25 and 11,225.00 soon after after opening at the higher end.

Losses in financial and pharmaceutical stocks outweighed gains in IT and energy shares.

At 9:48 am, the Sensex traded at 37,854.67, down 274.23 points - or 0.72 per cent - from its previous close, while the Nifty was down 75.25 points (0.67 per cent) at 11,118.90.Banking stocks fell after a Reserve Bank of India report said bad loan ratios could soar in the future, while a continued rise in domestic cases of the novel coronavirus further dented hopes of an economic recovery.The RBI's report, released on Friday evening, said non-performing assets - or bad loans - of the country's banks could rise to as much as 15 per cent of total loans by March 2021. Shares in ICICI Bank fell as much as 4.52 per cent to Rs 364.60 apiece on the BSE.

On Saturday, the private sector lender reported a quarterly profit of Rs 2,599 crore for the April-June period, missing analysts' estimates.Analysts awaited more large cap earnings for near-term cues. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tech Mahindra are slated to report their financial results for the April-June period later in the day. Shares elsewhere in Asia jumped led by technology stocks, led by Taiwan's TSMC, Asia's third-largest company by market capitalisation, which rose almost 10 per cent, after rival Intel signalled it may give up manufacturing its own components due to delays in new seven nanometer chip technology.MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.98 per cent higher, though Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was down 0.54 per cent.China's Shanghai Composite gauge rose 0.09 per cent, following big falls late last week, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI indices were up 0.08 per cent and 1.11 per cent respectively.

The E-Mini S-P 500 was last seen up 0.47 per cent, indicating a positive start for US markets on Monday.The Sensex rose 3 per cent last week, part of an overall positive trend since the lowest level of the year, recorded in late March. However, analysts say disappointment on the earnings front amid US-China tensions and rising COVID-19 cases around the world will keep investors cautious.Meanwhile, total COVID-19 cases in India touched 1.44 million by Monday morning, according to government data.