Markets decline in early trade amid unabated foreign fund outflows, muted earnings

FIIs offloaded equities worth ₹3,404.04 crore on Friday (November 8, 2024). File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark-sensitive indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Monday (November 11, 2024) as continuous foreign fund outflows, disappointing quarterly earnings and weak trends from Asian markets dented investors’ sentiment.

Forex traders said the volatility in the equity market is likely to continue as the short-term trend continues to be choppy, and this consolidation is likely to continue in the near-term with a weak bias.

The BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 484.98 points to 79,001.34 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 143.6 points to 24,004.60.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Asian Paints tumbled over 8% after the company on Saturday (November 9, 2024) reported a 43.71% decline in consolidated net profit to ₹693.66 crore for the September quarter, impacted by soft-demand conditions, material price inflation and a decline in decorative and coatings business in the domestic market.

Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Nestle, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank were also among the laggards.

However, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Maruti and HCL Technologies were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,404.04 crore on Friday (November 11, 2024), according to exchange data.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said, Indian markets remain under pressure, largely due to relentless foreign investor selling.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting lower.

Wall Street ended in the positive territory on Friday (November 11, 2024).

“The sustained rally in the U.S. markets which have taken the Dow and S&P 500 above 40,000 and 6,000 respectively is no longer a tailwind for Indian markets. In India, in contrast, worse-than-expected earnings downgrades for FY25 are weighing on stock prices favouring the bears in the near-term,” V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.42% to $73.56 a barrel.

On Friday (November 11, 2024), the BSE benchmark gauge Sensex declined by 55.47 points or 0.07% to settle at 79,486.32. The Nifty dipped 51.15 points or 0.21% to 24,148.20.