Sensex, Nifty decline in early trade as FPIs selling spree

New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Monday, owing to relentless foreign fund outflows, selling in IT stocks and weak leads from the US markets.

The BSE benchmark Sensex declined 156.72 points to 77,423.59 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 64.25 points to 23,468.45.

HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 22,420 crore from the Indian equity market so far this month, owing to high domestic stock valuations, increasing allocations to China, and the rising US dollar as well as Treasury yields.

With this sell-off, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have recorded a total outflow of Rs 15,827 crore in 2024 so far.

"Even though Nifty has corrected 10.4 percent from the peak there are no signs of a sustained recovery in the market. Relentless FII selling, earnings downgrades for majority of stocks for FY25, and the consequences of the Trump trade are weighing on the market," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

"Weak leads from Wall Street and rising US bond yields add to the anxiety," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 110.64 points or 0.14 percent to settle at 77,580.31 on Thursday. The Nifty declined by 26.35 points or 0.11 percent to 23,532.70.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)