Sensex, Nifty Decline: FPI Selling, IT Stocks Weigh on Markets

Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Monday, owing to relentless foreign fund outflows, selling in IT stocks and weak leads from the US markets.

The BSE benchmark Sensex declined 156.72 points to 77,423.59 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 64.25 points to 23,468.45.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and IndusInd Bank were the major laggards.

HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,849.87 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 22,420 crore from the Indian equity market so far this month, owing to high domestic stock valuations, increasing allocations to China, and the rising US dollar as well as Treasury yields.

With this sell-off, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have recorded a total outflow of Rs 15,827 crore in 2024 so far.

Equity markets were closed on Friday for Guru Nanak Jayanti.

"Even though Nifty has corrected 10.4 per cent from the peak there are no signs of a sustained recovery in the market. Relentless FII selling, earnings downgrades for majority of stocks for FY25, and the consequences of the Trump trade are weighing on the market," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

The US markets ended lower on Friday.

"Weak leads from Wall Street and rising US bond yields add to the anxiety," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.51 per cent to USD 71.40 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 110.64 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 77,580.31 on Thursday. The Nifty declined by 26.35 points or 0.11 per cent to 23,532.70.