Mumbai: Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower Friday, extending the losing streak for the fifth consecutive session, as investors remained cautious due to rising oil prices amid geopolitical tensions in West Asia and renewed concerns over US trade tariffs.
Fresh foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip HDFC Bank also dented market sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 331.62 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 76,059.77. During the day, it tanked 916.96 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 75,474.43.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 102.15 points, or 0.43 per cent, to end at 23,767.45.
From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and Infosys were among the major laggards.
IT services company Infosys declined 1 per cent after it tempered the upper end of its full-year revenue forecast to between 1.5 per cent and 3 per cent amid continued macroeconomic uncertainty.
HCL Tech, ITC, Axis Bank and Tata Consultancy Services were among the winners.
“Indian equity markets extended their losing streak to a fifth consecutive session as investors remained cautious amid lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and renewed concerns over US trade tariffs. Weakness across Asian markets reinforced the risk-off mood, prompting broad-based selling despite signs of easing pressure in energy markets,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 3.66 per cent to USD 96.98 per barrel Friday, after surpassing USD 100 per barrel in the previous session.
“Market sentiment is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, as sustained oil prices in a higher range could begin to adversely impact key macroeconomic indicators and growth dynamics. Washington’s new tariffs on imports added another headwind for export-driven economies, with technology-heavy markets having been hit the most as higher rates weigh on growth and investors are increasingly seeking to diversify their concentrated exposure to other emerging market opportunities,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,999.23 crore Thursday, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI tanked 5.72 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended lower Thursday.
On Thursday, the Sensex declined 363.66 points, or 0.47 per cent, to settle at 76,391.39. The Nifty dipped 126.65 points, or 0.53 per cent, to end at 23,869.60.