Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 declined on Monday, extending their subdued trend after six consecutive weekly losses, as rising crude oil prices and escalating tensions in West Asia dampened investor sentiment.
At around 11:05 am, the Sensex was down 459 points at 72,859.87, while the Nifty slipped 126 points to 22,586.25. The weakness comes amid persistent global uncertainty and continued foreign investor outflows, which have weighed on domestic equities in recent weeks.
Sectorally, most indices traded in the red, with 11 out of 16 major sectoral indices declining. The broader markets also showed mixed performance, with the Nifty Smallcap100 index falling 0.3 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap100 index remained largely flat.
Despite the overall weakness, select pockets of the market showed resilience. IT stocks held firm on expectations of a better-than-anticipated performance in the March quarter, while banking stocks remained in focus as valuations turned attractive following recent corrections.
Public sector banks saw buying interest after quarterly business updates indicated improving loan growth momentum. Stocks such as Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda gained 4.2 per cent, 4.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively, lifting the PSU banking segment by around 1.8 per cent.
Foreign institutional investors continued to remain net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 9,931.13 crore on Thursday, adding to the pressure on markets. Trading activity was lower due to a market holiday on Friday for Good Friday.
Among individual stocks, Trent jumped 5.4 per cent after reporting a 20 per cent increase in standalone revenue for the March quarter. Wipro also gained about 1 per cent after securing a USD 1 billion deal.
The market outlook remains cautious in the near term, with crude oil prices, geopolitical developments and foreign fund flows expected to be key drivers of investor sentiment. |
