Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Friday amid fears of a foreign fund boycott and the US Federal Reserve hinting at lower rate cuts next year.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex fell 214.08 points to 79,003.97 in early trade. The NSE Nifty also plunged 63.8 points to 23,887.90.
Among the 30 blue-chip stocks, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Ultratech Cement and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
Titan, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti have increased.
In the Asian market, prices in Seoul fell, while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded in positive territory.
Wall Street ended Thursday on a mixed note.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) on Thursday offloaded equity worth Rs 4,224.92 crore, according to exchange data.
“The FII buying seen in early December is now reversing and this week’s selling has reached Rs 12,229 crore. This shift in FII strategy is also being reflected in market trends, with large caps, especially financials, under pressure due to FII selling. The negative reaction to the Fed’s comments yesterday will be temporary. A recovery led by large caps is possible in the near term,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.69 percent to $72.38 a barrel.
In a fourth day of declines, the 30-share BSE benchmark settled down 964.15 points, or 1.20 percent, at 79,218.05 on Thursday. The Nifty fell 247.15 points, or 1.02 percent, to sink below 24,000 points at 23,951.70.
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