Sensex declines 455 points on foreign fund outflows, trade-related concerns

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday as persistent foreign fund outflows, concerns over further US tariffs on Indian exports and geopolitical overhangs dent investors' sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 455.35 points to 83,120.89 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 135.35 points to 25,547.95.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro, Eternal, Power Grid, Adani Ports, Infosys, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were among the biggest laggards.

However, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,769.31 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 5,595.84 crore, according to exchange data.

"Indian equity markets begin the week on a cautious footing as risk appetite remains restrained amid lingering global uncertainty, continued FII outflows, and geopolitical overhangs. Recent profit-booking across sectors has added to near-term pressure, keeping sentiment defensive," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

In the past five trading days, the BSE benchmark declined 2,185.77 points or 2.54 per cent, and the Nifty tumbled 645.25 points or 2.45 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded higher. US markets ended in positive territory on Friday.

"The market has turned distinctly weak, weighed down by a series of India-specific and global geopolitical events. Geopolitical developments in Venezuela, the crisis in Iran and Trump’s threats regarding Greenland are also being viewed by the markets with concern," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.24 per cent to USD 63.49 per barrel.

On Friday, the Sensex tumbled 604.72 points or 0.72 per cent to sink below the 84,000-level and settle at 83,576.24. The Nifty dropped 193.55 points or 0.75 per cent to 25,683.30.