Stock market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday, tracking deep losses in heavyweights Reliance Industries, Eternal, and ICICI Bank amid global tariff uncertainties.
Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Besides, weakness in the rupee and unabated flight of foreign capital from Indian equities also made investors jittery, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 324.17 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 83,246.18.
During the day, it tumbled 672.04 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 82,898.31.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 108.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 25,585.50.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Reliance Industries dropped 3.04 per cent after the company reported a flat net profit of Rs 18,645 crore for the third quarter, as a decline in gas production and weakness in its retail business offset gains in other segments.
ICICI Bank, Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services and UltraTech Cement were also among the laggards.
ICICI Bank dipped 2.26 per cent after its consolidated profit for the December quarter declined 2.68 per cent to Rs 12,537.98 crore, hit by an RBI-mandated Rs 1,283-crore provision for agricultural loans wrongly classified as priority sector advances.
On a standalone basis, the country’s second-largest lender reported an over 4 per cent decline in the October-December profit at Rs 12,883 crore.
However, InterGlobe Aviation, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Finance were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index settled higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower.
“Global risk appetite weakened after US President Donald Trump announced new tariff threats against eight European nations, reigniting concerns of a potential US–EU trade dispute.
“This development triggered a broad risk-off mood across global equity markets, prompting investors to rotate toward safe-haven assets like gold,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Domestically, sentiment remains cautious amid ongoing FII outflows.
With the Q3 earnings season progressing, stock-specific volatility is likely, particularly where performance has been mixed, he added.
The rupee breached the 91-a-dollar mark for the second time in a month before ending 14 paise down at 90.92 (provisional) against the greenback.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 1.22 per cent to $63.35 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,346.13 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,935.31 crore, according to exchange data.
