Stock Markets Slide in Early Trade on Weak Global Cues, Foreign Outflows
Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Thursday, tracking weak trends in global markets due to ongoing uncertainty in West Asia and incessant foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 229.69 points to 74,139.32 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 66.30 points to 23,339.
Of the 30 Sensex firms, Trent, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel were among the top laggards.
The winners included Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports and Tech Mahindra.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,616.56 billion on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.
“The headwinds for the market in the short term are stronger than the tailwinds. Continued uncertainty in West Asia and large and persistent FPI sell-offs are strong headwinds weighing on the market,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
He added that the upward trend in emerging markets in the US, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan points to more FPI selling in India.
Global oil reference Brent crude oil traded at $96.86 per barrel, down 0.97 percent.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded lower.
US markets closed lower on Wednesday.
“While the renewal of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has provided some relief in regional risk sentiment, broader concerns remain unresolved. Continued hostilities between the US and Iran, including reports of Iran taking retaliatory actions following recent US attacks, have kept uncertainty high and limited any meaningful improvement in global risk appetite,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of online trading and asset technology firm Enrich Money. he said.
The official added that the lack of concrete progress towards a diplomatic solution continues to make markets highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines, especially given their impact on energy prices and global trade flows.
On Wednesday, the Sensex index settled at 74,346.17, down 303.67 points or 0.41 per cent. Nifty ended at 23,405.60 points, down 77.95 points or 0.33 percent.
