Sensex falls below 65,000; IT, metal stocks weigh on weak global trend

File photo of stock trader looking at a share price on a screen at a brokerage house.
| Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre

Equity benchmark index Sensex buckled under selling pressure for the second straight session to close below the 65,000 mark on August 18, as investors offloaded IT, teck and metal energy stocks amid a bearish global trend.

Besides, fresh foreign fund outflows also hit investor sentiments, traders said.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 202.36 points or 0.31% to settle at 64,948.66. During the day, it fell by 396.3 points or 0.60% to 64,754.72.

The NSE Nifty dipped 55.10 points or 0.28% to end at 19,310.15.

“Concerns regarding inflation and shifts in investor preferences towards safer assets dampened overall market sentiment for domestic equities. Fears of a Fed rate hike, coupled with a decline in global equities, exerted additional downward pressure, specifically on IT stocks.

“Higher US bond yields and default risk in China are poised to prompt FIIs to adopt a more prudent stance when considering investments in emerging markets,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Tata Consultancy Services was the biggest laggard in the Sensex list, falling 2.14 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Power Grid, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance.

In contrast, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Nestle, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the negative territory.

European markets were trading down. The U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.46% to $83.73 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,510.86 crore on Thursday after a day’s breather, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark had declined 388.40 points or 0.59% to settle at 65,151.02 on Thursday. The Nifty slipped 99.75 points or 0.51% to end at 19,365.25.