MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday, weighed down by auto stocks and sustained foreign fund outflows. Weak US markets and tariff threats also dented investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 424.90 points or 0.56 per cent to close at 75,311.06. During the day, it fell 623.55 points or 0.82 per cent to 75,112.41. The NSE Nifty slipped 117.25 points or 0.51 per cent to 22,795.90.
Over the past four sessions, the Sensex has dropped 685.8 points or 0.90 per cent, while the Nifty has shed 163.6 points or 0.71 per cent.
Among Sensex constituents, the auto stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors tumbled with the former falling over 6 per cent. Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, Zomato, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, and UltraTech Cement were also among the major losers.
On the other hand, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, and NTPC posted gains. A combination of negative factors such as relentless FII selling, a weakening rupee, expensive valuations, and the US threat of reciprocating tariff levies continue to drive investors away from Indian equities.
“In fact, local benchmarks underperformed both Asian and European indices, which logged significant gains. Barring metals, the slump in domestic markets was led by weakness in banking, IT, telecom, auto, realty, and oil & gas shares,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
FIIs offload
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs3,311.55 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
“The domestic market continued to exhibit broad-based weakness, primarily influenced by investor concerns over the hawkish tone of the FOMC minutes, which signalled prolonged higher interest rates that could constrain liquidity in emerging markets,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
He said although the market has undergone a healthy correction, uncertainties surrounding the gradual recovery of corporate earnings and ongoing tariff-related risks continue to cast doubt on valuation levels, particularly in the broader market.
India is currently lagging behind its Asian peers as FII outflows remain high, with the ‘sell India, buy China’ strategy continuing to yield returns for the time being.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in positive territory. European markets were mostly higher. US markets closed lower on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.59 per cent to $76.05 a barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex had dropped 203.22 points or 0.27 per cent to 75,735.96, while the Nifty had slipped 19.75 points or 0.09 per cent to 22,913.15.
