Sensex Drops 443 Points, Nifty Slips Amid FII Outflows and Weak Global Cues

Indian equity markets extended their losing streak on Thursday as persistent foreign fund outflows, elevated crude oil prices, and weak global cues weighed on investor sentiment.

The BSE Sensex settled lower by 443.15 points, or 0.60 per cent, at 73,903.02, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 121 points, or 0.52 per cent, to close at 23,284.60.

Market analysts suggest to remain cautious amid continued foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and concerns over the impact of higher crude oil prices on the domestic economy.

Bagga also highlighted key policy speculations circulating within the trading community.

"There are market rumours that tax treatment for FIIs for bond markets and maybe stock markets too could be made more favourable via an ordinance. This led to a sharp recovery yesterday, it could play out today as well, though there has been no official confirmation of this so far," Bagga said.

Analysing the international macroeconomic landscape, Bagga said, "It's a global down day following through from a small fall in the US markets on the back of strong private payroll numbers, lack of progress on the US Iran peace deal and some profit booking from the AI momentum trade."

At the time of filing, Dow Jones Futures stood at 50,702.49, up marginally by 15.42 points or 0.03 per cent. However, the S&P 500 declined by 56.10 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 7,553.68, while the Nasdaq dropped 239.93 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 26,853.98.

Bagga also highlighted that regional sentiment remained weak across Asia. Asian markets are down this morning.

The Nikkei 225 fell 1,132.13 points, or 1.66 per cent, to 67,270.00, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 406.21 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 25,227.00. Singapore's Straits Times Index also slipped 69.83 points, or 1.36 per cent, to 5,068.41.

On the commodities front, Brent crude continued to hover near the high-$90 per barrel range, a development closely tracked by investors given its implications for the Indian economy.

Commenting on the energy market, Bagga said, "Oil is steady as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, holds out hope of a US Iran deal."

At the time of filing this report, Brent Crude traded at $97.15 per barrel, down $0.66 or 0.67 per cent, while WTI crude stood at $95.51, down $0.51 or 0.53 per cent. Gold, meanwhile, rose to $26.11, or 0.59 per cent, to $4,460.96.

Analysts noted that higher crude prices are negative for India as they put pressure on inflation, widen the fiscal deficit, and exert stress on the rupee due to the country's heavy dependence on imported energy.

(With inputs from ANI)