Among the Sensex firms, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports sustained their gaining momentum and traded higher by 4.40 per cent and 4.37 per cent, respectively. BPCL, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and SBI were the other major gainers. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Infosys and Bajaj Auto traded in the negative zone with a loss of up to 1.54 per cent.
Investors' wealth eroded by Rs 3.46 lakh crore on Wednesday as equity markets took a sharp tumble amid weak global trends and foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 676.53 points or 1.02 per cent to settle at 65,782.78. During the day, it plunged 1,027.63 points or 1.54 per cent to 65,431.68. In line with the weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms eroded by Rs 3,46,947.54 crore to Rs 3,03,33,258.69 crore.
State Bank of India, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and PowerGrid were also among the laggards.
'We have relatively strong growth and a healthy corporate earnings cycle as positives, but a worrisome current account deficit and high inflation as challenges.'
Domestic equity markets, which are at record high levels, will be driven by quarterly earnings, global trends and foreign fund movement, analysts said. The movement of rupee and global oil benchmark Brent crude will also be tracked by investors. "The direction of global stock markets, fluctuations in the rupee-to-dollar exchange rate, and movement in crude oil prices will all play a crucial role in influencing the overall market trend.
Stock markets will be largely driven by global trends in the absence of any major domestic triggers this week, say analysts. The trading activity of foreign investors, global crude oil prices and rupee-dollar movement will also influence market movement, they said. "Anticipating a period of consolidation in the absence of clear global cues, the market's trajectory will likely hinge on the movement of the US bond yields, the dollar index, and crude oil prices, as well as institutional flows.
India attracted $1.4 billion FIIs in November, says a report by HSBC.
Mutual funds (MFs) invested a record Rs 1.73 trillion in equities in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), providing strong support to the Indian markets at a time when foreign investors were redeeming their holdings. They exceeded the previous high of nearly Rs 1.72 trillion investment in equities in FY22. The data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) shows MFs were net buyers in the equity market in eleven of the twelve months last financial year.
Experts say a turnaround may happen after the general elections.
Raising concern about over-dependence of Indian capital markets on foreign institutional investors, eminent banker Deepak Parekh has said that something needs to be done to change this pattern.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday after hitting their all-time high levels in early trade amid selling in blue-chip IT stocks and HDFC Bank. After breaching the 77,000-mark during the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex came under selling pressure at the fag-end of the session and ended 203.28 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 76,490.08. During the day, the benchmark jumped 385.68 points or 0.50 per cent to hit a new record of 77,079.04.
A delay in US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing tapering, coupled with better-than-expected September quarter earnings, ensured FIIs kept foreign money flowing into Indian equities.
Monetary policy stance to depend on inflation data
Does away with much of auction process in this market and reinvestment checks
Besides foreign flows, corporate earnings and US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen's testimony to the nation's legislature are also likely to impact investor sentiment.
'It is unlikely that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) might increase their India allocation, given the overweight status for most FPIs.' 'Given the commentary from the Republican Party, an anti-imports approach means money will not flow out of the US.'
The yield on the 10-year bond may fall to 8.70 per cent due to FII flows in debt.
According to the global financial services major, FIIs have recouped around 25 per cent of the outflows seen over the June-August period, when the country witnessed its sharpest bout of FII outflows since the global financial crisis.
This was the fifth consecutive quarter when the Indian markets have seen positive flows from FIIs.
Domestic quarterly earnings, global trends and foreign fund trading activity would dictate the movement in equity markets, which may face volatility amid the scheduled monthly derivatives expiry this week, analysts said. Equity markets took a breather last week. The BSE Sensex declined 298.22 points or 0.48 per cent and the Nifty dipped 111.4 points or 0.60 per cent.
'Expect India to keep doing well irrespective of geopolitics.'
'If individual stocks start falling 25% to 30% or more, then I doubt how many of them will be able to withstand that (kind of selloff). That is when you'll see panic coming in.'
'Investors may have made money in mid and smallcaps due to market momentum, but now they need to focus on fundamentals.'
Market experts believe the retreat is because of uncertainty.
'Arbitrage funds make the most sense for those in the 30 per cent tax bracket, are viable for those in the 20 per cent bracket, but less so for those in the 10 per cent bracket.'
'Geopolitics will be the most important driver of financial markets in 2025.'
With no major domestic market moving triggers this week, equities would continue to look at global factors, foreign fund movement and trend in the rupee for further direction, analysts said. "This week we have the August month F&O expiry where bulls are looking for rest after a gain in the August series," said Santosh Meena, head of research, Swastika Investmart Ltd. "There are not a lot of triggers but global cues, August month F&O expiry, and FIIs' behaviour will be important factors in the direction of the market," he noted.
Deutsche Bank expects the Sensex to climb only 8% in 2017 to 29,000, and expects high volatility.
The policymaker said the RBI had not reached the point where specific actions were under consideration.
The US Fed interest rate decision, inflation data and FIIs are the key factors that are expected to drive stock markets this week, analysts said. Global trends will also be tracked by investors for further cues, they added. "The Indian stock market's future trajectory will be influenced by a blend of global and domestic factors.
RBI recently hiked LRS limit to $125,000 or Rs 7500,000 as on Aug 19 with $/rupee rate of 60
Sebi on Friday barred fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya from the securities markets and restrained him from associating with any listed firm for three years in the matter of routing of funds to the Indian securities market using overseas bank accounts with UBS AG. The Indian government has been attempting to extradite Mallya from the United Kingdom to face fraud charges related to his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya has been living in the United Kingdom since March 2016.
Equity flows have been under pressure since the second half of 2018, after the IL&FS crisis sent shockwaves in both equity and debt markets.
'Investors need to be stock specific and should not rush to buy stocks at the current levels.'
While FIIs have pumped in nearly Rs 17,000 crore, MFs have been net buyers to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore.
The rally in Indian market is mainly due to resumption of foreign institutional investor inflows.
In yet another step to attract foreign money, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed non-resident investors to acquire shares of listed Indian companies through stock exchanges under the foreign direct investment (FDI) scheme.
Investors globally pulled out more than $3 billion from equity funds focused on Emerging markets including India in a week amid concerns over the US Federal Reserve's plan of curtailing its stimulus drive starting later this year.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances