MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended their losing streak to six consecutive sessions on Monday, dragged down by significant selling in heavyweight stocks like HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.
Mixed global trends and ongoing foreign fund outflows added to the market pressure, with the Sensex declining by 638.45 points.
The BSE Sensex dropped 638.45 points, or 0.78 per cent, to close at 81,050. Earlier in the day, it fell by as much as 962.39 points, or 1.17 per cent, to hit 80,726.06.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty ended the session 218.85 points lower, down 0.87 per cent, to settle at 24,795.75.
Major laggards
Major laggards among the 30 Sensex firms included Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, NTPC, State Bank of India (SBI), PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Titan, and UltraTech Cement.
However, stocks like Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, and Tech Mahindra bucked the trend.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said that the Indian markets have entered a consolidation phase with a high risk of underperforming compared with Asian peers.
Significant corrections
“This phase is marked by significant corrections in the broader market due to premium valuations. There is notable global arbitrage activity, with Chinese markets drawing substantial inflows thanks to their attractive valuations and stimulus measures,” Nair added.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude surged by 2.09 per cent to $ 79.68 per barrel, adding to domestic economic concerns. European markets traded mixed on Monday, while key Asian markets like Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul posted gains. Wall Street had ended the previous Friday on a positive note.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to offload equities, selling shares worth Rs9,896.95 crore on Friday. On the other hand, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,905.08 crore, according to exchange data.
Last week, the BSE Sensex dropped 808.65 points to close at a three-week low of 81,688.45, while the NSE Nifty declined by 235.50 points to settle at 25,014.60. Overall, the Sensex shed 3,883.4 points, or 4.53 per cent, while the Nifty fell by 1,164.35 points, or 4.44 per cent, during the week.
