Sensex, Nifty Fall for 8th Day: FII Selling Hits Market

Mumbai, Feb 14 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty extended their downward trend to eighth day in a row on Friday as investors' sentiments were plagued due to persistent foreign fund outflows.

Markets began the trade on an optimistic note but soon gave up initial gains and fell in the negative territory.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 199.76 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 75,939.21. During the day, it tanked 699.33 points or 0.91 per cent to 75,439.64.

The NSE Nifty declined 102.15 points or 0.44 per cent to 22,929.25.

In eight trading days, the BSE benchmark has tumbled 2,644.6 points or 3.36 per cent, and the Nifty slumped 810 points or 3.41 per cent.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports dropped over 4 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, NTPC and Tata Steel were also the among the laggards.

Nestle, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Tech were among the gainers.

"The risk-averse sentiment continues to rule investors' minds as corporate earnings are significantly lower than the market expectations during the start of the year, especially for mid and small caps.

"Muted earnings trend, INR depreciation along with external factors like tariffs are expected to keep the sentiments weak in the near term, which could further push FIIs outflows. Volatility is expected to stay elevated until there is clarity on tariffs and a recovery in corporate earnings," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher while Tokyo ended lower.

European markets were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended higher on Thursday.

India and the US have resolved to more than double the two-way trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 and begin talks for a bilateral trade agreement with a view to bringing down duties and increase market access.

According to a joint statement issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in Washington, the two leaders have also pledged the bilateral trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation.

"To this end, the leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade – Mission 500 – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030. Recognizing that this level of ambition would require new, fair-trade terms, the leaders announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025," it said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,789.91 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up by 0.55 per cent to USD 75.43 a barrel.

The Sensex dipped 32.11 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 76,138.97 on Thursday. The Nifty slipped 13.85 points or 0.06 per cent to 23,031.40.