Sensex, Nifty decline on weak global cues, foreign fund outflows

A general view of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Friday due to weak trends in global markets and unabated foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 251.25 points to 64,580.95, extending its previous day’s decline. The Nifty declined 65.85 points to 19,329.45.

Among the Sensex firms, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Maruti, Tata Motors and Nestle were the major laggards.

Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra and NTPC were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in negative territory.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,712.33 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

“Concerns are mounting as FIIs continue their persistent selling, potentially jeopardising Nifty’s positive outlook. Additionally, Jerome Powell’s (Federal Reserve Chair) hawkish comments, signalling the possibility of further interest rate hikes in response to persistent inflation and robust economic growth, could lead to instability in today’s trading,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-opening market comment.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.34% to $80.28 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark declined 143.41 points or 0.22% to settle at 64,832.20 on Thursday. The Nifty dipped 48.20 points or 0.25 per cent to 19,395.30.