Sensex, Nifty plunge amid FII outflows, weak global cues
Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell sharply in early trade on Friday as persistent foreign fund outflows and weak global market trends dampened investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 631.93 points to 82,679.08, while the NSE Nifty slipped 184.55 points to 25,325.15.
Among the laggards in the Sensex pack were Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Tata Consultancy Services, and Maruti. On the other hand, ITC, ICICI Bank, Eternal, and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Across Asia, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded sharply lower, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index was marginally down. US markets also ended significantly lower overnight.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,263.21 crore on Thursday, whereas Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth ₹5,283.91 crore.
“A notable aspect of the current market trend is that despite DIIs buying significantly more than FIIs are selling, the market continues to drift downward. Heavy shorting by FIIs is outweighing domestic buying,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
“The continued FII strategy of selling in India and moving funds to cheaper markets has emboldened them to persist. While short covering could trigger a reversal, there are no immediate catalysts visible. However, markets have a knack for surprising,” he added.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.30% to USD 63.57 per barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex declined 148.14 points or 0.18% to close at 83,311.01, while the Nifty fell 87.95 points or 0.34% to settle at 25,509.70.
