July 25 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty dropped sharply in early trade on Friday, weighed down by losses in Bajaj Finance and continued selling by foreign investors.
A weak trend in Asian markets further dampened investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 407.45 points to 81,776.72 in early trade, while the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 144.3 points to 24,917.80.
Among Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance dropped nearly 6 per cent after announcing its June quarter results. Bajaj Finserv also declined over 4 per cent.
Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, and Maruti were also among the top losers.
On the other hand, Eicher Motors, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, and State Bank of India posted gains.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹2,133.69 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹2,617.14 crore, as per exchange data.
“The near-term market construct has turned weak. Sustained FII selling of Rs 11,572 crore in the last four trading days will weigh on the market,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading lower, while South Korea’s Kospi was in positive territory.
US markets ended mixed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, India and the UK signed a landmark free trade agreement on Thursday. Starting next year, 99 per cent of Indian exports will enter the UK duty-free, while tariffs on British goods like cars and whisky will be reduced.
The deal, signed just days before a US tariff moratorium expires, aims to double the $56 billion trade between the two countries by 2030.
“The India-UK FTA, which is India’s first comprehensive trade agreement with a major developed country, has two implications from the market perspective. One, this FTA will significantly boost trade between both countries, which will be seen as a positive by the market. Two, this FTA along with many other FTAs signed by India with other countries, projects India as a nation committed to free trade. The fact that this FTA has come during a time of tariff wars is commendable, and hopefully this will improve India’s chances of striking a fair-trade deal with the US,” Vijayakumar added.
Sectors such as textiles, leather, food processing, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and gems and jewellery—expected to benefit from the FTA—will be closely watched by the market, he said.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.39 per cent to USD 69.45 a barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex plunged 542.47 points, or 0.66 per cent, to close at 82,184.17, while the Nifty slipped 157.80 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 25,062.10.
