MUMBAI— Indian equities closed in the red on Monday, extending their losing streak amid persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and uncertainty surrounding a potential delay in the India-U.S. trade agreement.
The benchmark Sensex fell 572.07 points, or 0.70%, to settle at 80,891.02. The 30-share index opened weak at 81,299.97, down from the previous close of 81,463.09, and slipped further during the session to hit an intraday low of 80,776.44, dragged down by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks—particularly in the IT sector.
The broader Nifty 50 also declined, ending 156.10 points, or 0.63%, lower at 24,680.90.
“Investor sentiment has turned cautious, weighed down by weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings, delays in the India-U.S. trade deal, and persistent FII selling,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. He added that global markets, in contrast, remained broadly positive, supported by relatively reassuring developments in U.S.-EU trade relations.
Market participants are now closely watching upcoming monetary policy decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, as well as the ongoing earnings season in India, which are likely to influence near-term market direction.
Among the biggest losers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Titan, TCS, HCL Technologies, SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC, Axis Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra. On the positive side, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, and ICICI Bank managed to end in the green.
Broader indices also came under pressure: the Nifty 100 declined by 157 points (0.62%), the Nifty Midcap 100 dropped 490 points (0.84%), and the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 229 points (1.26%).
Sectoral indices followed the broader trend. The Bank Nifty lost 444 points, Nifty Financial Services dropped 192 points, Nifty IT shed 253 points, and Nifty Auto declined by 88 points.
The rupee also weakened, trading down 0.10% at 86.65 against the U.S. dollar as weak capital market sentiment exerted downward pressure.
“The week ahead is expected to remain volatile, with global cues such as the August 1 deadline for the India-U.S. trade deal and key U.S. economic data releases likely to drive market movements. The rupee is expected to trade within a range of 86.25 to 86.90,” said Jateen Trivedi, Analyst at LKP Securities. (Source: IANS)
