Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty5 were both trading in the red on Friday, dragged down by heavy foreign fund outflows and selling in financial, IT and oil & gas shares.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 721.08 points or 0.88 per cent to settle at over a month's low of 81,463.09. During the day, it plunged 786.48 points or 0.95 per cent to 81,397.69.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 225.10 points or 0.90 per cent to a month's low of 24,837.
Also Read: Sensex down 542 points; Nifty down 157 points
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance tanked nearly 6 per cent after posting its June quarter earnings which dampened investor sentiment. Bajaj Finserv also fell by over 4 per cent.
As many as 2,892 stocks declined while 1,117 advanved and 145 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Thirteen of the sixteen major sectoral indices ended lower on Friday, with Nifty Auto and Nifty Energy seeing the steepest declines. The broader small-cap and mid-cap indices also came under pressure, with the BSE smallcap gauge tanking 1.88 per cent and midcap index dropping 1.46 per cent.
Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid and Maruti were among the laggards.
The gainers were Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, BSE healthcare and State Bank of India.
Utilities slumped 2.37 per cent, power tumbled 2.36 per cent, oil & gas (2.11 per cent), industrials (1.88 per cent), capital goods (1.83 per cent), IT (1.65 per cent) and metal (1.64 per cent).
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark gauge declined 294.64 points or 0.36 per cent, and the Nifty dipped 131.4 points or 0.52 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,133.69 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹2,617.14 crore.
Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Limited, said markets extended their decline on Friday by nearly a per cent because of weak global cues as well as disappointing earnings.
“The recent correction reflects growing concerns around earnings disappointments and cautious management commentary, which are weighing heavily on investor confidence. Additionally, continued selling by FIIs is exacerbating the pressure,” he said.
"The near-term market construct has turned weak. Sustained FII selling of ₹11,572 crore in the last four trading days will weigh on the market," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
A weak trend in Asian markets also dented investors’ spirits, as Japan’s Topix fell 0.6 per cent; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down by 0.4 per cent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1 per cent; The Shanghai Composite fell 0.5 per cent.
However, Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed and the US markets had ended on a mixed note on Thursday.
Here are the five key factors that brought down the stock markets today:
1. Bajaj Financial results put pressure on financial stocks
2. The uncertainty looming over the India-US trade deal has investors on edge.
3. There has been continued selling in Foreign Institutional Investors (FII)
4. The India-UK trade deal signed on Thursday could bring little cheer as investors watch the effect of tariff cuts on a range of items including whiskey, textiles, and automobiles.
5. Weak global cues
India and the UK signed a trade deal on Thursday which aims to double the USD USD 56 billion trade between them by 2030.
Starting next year, 99 per cent Indian exports will enter the UK duty-free, while tariffs on British products such as cars and whisky will be slashed.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.32 per cent to USD 69.40 a barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex tanked 542.47 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 82,184.17. The Nifty dropped 157.80 points or 0.63 per cent to 25,062.10.
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