Sensex declines on unabated foreign fund outflows, weak Asian markets

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Tuesday amid unabated foreign fund outflows and sluggish Asian market cues.

Fall in index majors HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also dragged the benchmark indices lower.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 316.31 points or 0.48 per cent to settle at 65,512.10. During the day, it fell 483.82 points or 0.73 per cent to 65,344.59.

The Nifty fell 109.55 points or 0.56 per cent to end at 19,528.75.

Among the Sensex firms, Maruti, NTPC, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, ITC and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards.

Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were among the gainers.

"Consolidation continued given the rising US bond yields and dollar index, prompting FIIs to pull funds. While the moderation in oil prices may provide respite on the downside. Infrastructure activity indicates an acceleration led by the rise in core sector output. Auto stocks declined due to mixed bag monthly data, while a near-normal monsoon will aid positive sentiment for consumption in the near term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.61 per cent and midcap gained 0.09 per cent.

Among the indices, oil & gas declined 1.30 per cent, auto fell by 1.21 per cent, metal (0.78 per cent), utilities (0.72 per cent), FMCG (0.50 per cent) and commodities (0.20 per cent).

Industrials, capital goods, consumer durables, realty and services were the gainers.

"Investors preferred to shun their equity exposure ahead of the monetary policy committee meeting this week. Markets were in weak terrain through the session, as traders trimmed their holding in automobile, oil & gas and metal shares. The stronger dollar once again weighed heavily on the rupee, which indicates that foreign investors may have once again pulled the plug on Indian equities.

"Even the robust September GST collections failed to enthuse investors as global worries continue to dictate the trend on local markets," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled lower while Shanghai ended in the green.

European markets were trading on a mixed note. The US markets ended mostly in the green on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.07 per cent to USD 90.73 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,685.70 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) turned net sellers and pulled out over Rs 14,767 crore from the Indian equities in September, primarily due to dollar appreciation, steady rise in the US bond yields, and a spike in crude oil prices.

Equity markets were closed on Monday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 320.09 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 65,828.41 on Friday. The Nifty advanced 114.75 points or 0.59 per cent to end at 19,638.30.