Sensex, Nifty fall for 3rd day on selling in blue-chips, broader markets rebound

Mumbai, Feb 20 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the third day on Thursday as fresh tariff threats, weak Asian markets and foreign fund outflows hurt investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 203.22 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 75,735.96. During the day, it tanked 476.17 points or 0.62 per cent to 75,463.01.

The NSE Nifty dipped 19.75 points or 0.09 per cent to 22,913.15.

Selling in frontline stocks HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC and Maruti dragged down the key indices.

Broader markets, however, bucked the trend with midcap and smallcap indices gaining more than 1 per cent.

From the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank fell the most by 2.35 per cent. Maruti, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, ITC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the major laggards.

NTPC, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,881.30 crore on Wednesday after a day's breather, according to exchange data.

"Domestic equity indices experienced minor losses as rising concerns over potential US tariffs on Indian goods led to capital outflows. Additionally, the proposed trade policy is expected to exert inflationary pressures, with the latest Fed Minutes indicating that an interest rate cut may be delayed," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

"Benchmark indices closed slightly lower on expiry day after a rangebound and volatile session. The FOMC minutes hinted that the US Federal Reserve might pause rate cuts due to inflation concerns," Satish Chandra Aluri, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.

Among BSE sectoral indices, bankex dropped 0.50 per cent, followed by financial services (0.25 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.10 per cent) and FMCG (0.04 per cent).

Power jumped the most 2.19 per cent, followed by utilities (2.17 per cent), metal (2.02 per cent), services (1.86 per cent), oil & gas (1.66 per cent) and industrials (1.55 per cent).

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.32 per cent and midcap index climbed 1.18 per cent.

"Weak Asian market cues kept the mood sluggish with a negative bias through the session in the domestic market as investors continue to trade with caution. FIIs exiting Indian equities in droves over past few months have been making investors jittery, thus leading to risk averseness," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Among Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the negative territory.

European markets were trading mostly higher.

US markets ended in positive territory on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.08 per cent to USD 76.10 a barrel.

In the three straight days to Thursday, Sensex dipped 260 points while Nifty skidded 46 points. PTI SUM MR

Source: PTI