Key Highlights:
- Sensex drops 407 points, Nifty down 144 points in early trade.
- Bajaj Finance tumbles 6 percent post-earnings; FII outflows remain heavy.
- India-UK FTA expected to boost trade, benefits key sectors.
Mumbai: Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Friday, as both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty slipped sharply in early trade. The Sensex dropped 407.45 points to 81,776.72, while the Nifty fell 144.3 points to 24,917.80. This decline followed a 542-point drop in the Sensex and a 158-point fall in the Nifty the previous day.
Bajaj Finance, FII Outflows Trigger Sell-off
The steep decline was led by Bajaj Finance, which tumbled nearly 6 percent following the announcement of its June quarter results. Bajaj Finserv also fell more than 4 percent. Other major laggards included Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, and Maruti.
The market mood was further soured by continued foreign institutional investor (FII) selling. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 2,133.69 crore on Thursday, part of a larger sell-off of Rs 11,572 crore over the past four sessions. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 2,617.14 crore.
According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, "The near-term market construct has turned weak," citing persistent FII selling as a major pressure point.
Mixed Global Cues and India-UK FTA in Focus
Asian markets showed a mixed trend. Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were trading lower, while South Korea's Kospi remained in positive territory. US markets ended Thursday on a mixed note.
Amid the volatility, a key positive development was the signing of a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK. The agreement allows 99 percent of Indian exports to enter the UK duty-free starting next year, while reducing tariffs on British goods such as cars and whisky.
Vijayakumar highlighted two key implications: an expected boost in bilateral trade and a strong message positioning India as a pro-free-trade nation. He added that sectors like textiles, leather, food processing, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and gems and jewellery could benefit from the deal.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.39 percent to USD 69.45 per barrel.
(With PTI Inputs)
