Stock markets trade lower in early deals amid relentless foreign fund outflows

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday amid persistent foreign fund outflows and profit-taking by investors.

Falling for the fourth day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 165.35 points to 84,972.92 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 77.85 points to 25,954.35.

From the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Titan, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, NTPC, and State Bank of India were among the major laggards.

However, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and ICICI Bank were gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,642.30 crore on Tuesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,645.94 crore, according to exchange data.

FII outflows, a record-weak rupee, and pressure on banking stocks keep sentiment fragile, Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The rupee fell 6 paise to a record low of 90.05 against US dollar in early trade.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted in positive territory, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded lower.

US markets ended higher on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, quoted 0.03 per cent down at USD 62.43 per barrel.

Falling for the third straight session on Tuesday, the Sensex tumbled 503.63 points, or 0.59 per cent, to settle at 85,138.27. The Nifty declined 143.55 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 26,032.20.