Markets decline for 3rd day on selling in IT, blue-chip pvt banking stocks & FII outflows

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the third consecutive day on Tuesday in a volatile trade, dragged by selling in IT and blue-chip private banking shares and foreign fund outflows amid concerns over the steep hike in US H-1B visa fees.

After oscillating between gains and losses during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed lower by 57.87 points or 0.07 per cent at 82,102.10.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 32.85 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,169.50.

Buying in auto and select public sector banks cushioned the losses, analysts said.

Among Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eternal and ITC were the major laggards. Selling in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices.

However, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

“The domestic equity market traded rangebound and ended flat, indicating continuation of the consolidation. Broader sentiment stayed cautious, with small- and mid-cap stocks lagging the benchmarks,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said. Sector-wise, autos, metals, and financials gained on signs of robust festive demand post-GST cuts, while FMCG and realty stocks came under pressure from profit booking, Nair added.

The BSE smallcap gauge dipped 0.35 per cent while midcap index declined 0.29 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, FMCG dropped the most by 1.28 per cent, followed by realty (0.89 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.72 per cent), consumer durables (0.66 per cent), teck (0.63 per cent) and IT (0.63 per cent).

Metal, bankex, auto, financial services and telecommunication were the gainers.

Equity markets staged a sharp rebound from the day’s lows as investors took heart from expectations of a revival in domestic demand, supported by the latest GST-driven reforms.

Sentiment was further lifted by optimism around the upcoming India–US trade negotiations, which fueled buying at lower levels and reflected renewed confidence in the market’s near-term outlook.

“Despite FII outflows, strong DII buying provided a cushion, giving market participants confidence and underscoring domestic liquidity as a key anchor of stability,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

In Asian markets, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled lower while South Korea’s Kospi ended in positive territory. Equity markets in Japan were closed for a holiday. Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended higher on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.45 per cent to $66.87 a barrel.

On Monday, the Sensex dropped 466.26 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 82,159.97. The Nifty declined 124.70 points or 0.49 per cent to 25,202.35.