Foreign fund outflows take a toll on markets

Mumbai: Stockmarkets closed lower for the second straight day on Friday amid relentless foreign fund outflows and losses in blue-chip stocks Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India. Benchmark BSE Sensex declined by 55.47 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 79,486.32. During the day, it tanked 424.42 points or 0.53 per cent to 79,117.37. The NSE Nifty dipped 51.15 points or 0.21 per cent to 24,148.20.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were the biggest laggards. Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,888.77 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. "Consolidation continued in the market as investors stayed cautious due to disappointment in earnings and the flight of FIIs. The US Fed continued its rate-cutting cycle to stimulate the economy," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, at Geojit Financial Services, said.

After gyrating nearly 700 points in early trade, markets moved in a range-bound manner thereafter and ended marginally lower on selective selling in banking, telecom, metal, oil & gas and realty stocks,

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said. "Despite recovery in global indices, Indian markets continue to bore the brunt of FII fund outflows. The US Fed rate cut failed to enthuse local investors as the undertone remains cautious with a negative bias," Tapse said.

The BSE smallcap gauge fell by 1.52 per cent and midcap index declined by 1.18 per cent. Among sectoral indices, realty lost 2.98 per cent, energy (2.10 per cent), oil & gas (2.08 per cent), utilities (1.59 per cent), power (1.51 per cent), commodities (1.30 per cent) and metal (1.05 per cent).