FII outflows, ICICI stocks weigh down indices for second session

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower in a highly volatile trade on Thursday amid relentless foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip ICICI Bank.

Falling for the second day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 148.14 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 83,311.01. During the day, it hit a high of 83,846.35 and a low of 83,237.65. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped by 87.95 points or 0.34 per cent to 25,509.70.

Among Sensex firms, Power Grid fell the most by 3.15 per cent due to weak financial results. Eternal dropped by 2.44 per cent, Bharat Electronics by 1.67 per cent, and Bajaj Finance by 1.45 per cent. ICICI Bank and NTPC fell by 1.21 per cent each, dragging the index down. However, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers. Stock markets were closed on Wednesday for Guru Nanak Jayanti.

“Volatility dominated the domestic market, with broad-based profit-booking seen amid continued FII outflows, despite supportive Asian market. Early optimism from the inclusion of four Indian companies in the MSCI Global Standard Index and strong US macro data was offset by weak domestic PMI readings, indicating softening sentiment,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,067.01 crore on Tuesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 1,202.90 crore, according to exchange data. India’s services sector growth witnessed the slowest pace of expansion in five months in October, as competitive pressures and heavy rains in parts of the country led to a slower increase in output, according to a monthly survey released on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from 60.9 in September to 58.9 in October, indicating the slowest pace of expansion since May. In the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

The BSE smallcap gauge dropped 1.53 per cent and midcap index went lower by 1.19 per cent. Utilities tanked 2.20 per cent, followed by metal (2.03 per cent), power (1.96 per cent), commodities (1.76 per cent), realty (1.51 per cent) and industrials (1.47 per cent). BSE Focused IT emerged as the only gainer.

A total of 3,012 stocks declined while 1,202 advanced and 139 remained unchanged on the BSE. On Tuesday, the Sensex dropped 519.34 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 83,459.15. The Nifty declined 165.70 points or 0.64 per cent to 25,597.65.