Indices settle lower amid selling in heavy-weights

Stock market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday, tracking deep losses in heavyweights Reliance Industries, Eternal, and ICICI Bank amid rising geopolitical tensions and renewed global tariff concerns. Besides, subdued quarterly results, ongoing weakness in the rupee and unabated flight of foreign capital from Indian equities also made investors jittery, traders said.

Amid cautious investor sentiment, 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. A total of 3,074 stocks declined, while 1,227 advanced and 182 remained unchanged on the BSE. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 108.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 25,585.50. Despite a weak start, buying interest emerged at lower levels, helping the indices to stage a modest recovery.

“Indian equity markets traded in a narrow range with a cautious undertone, as tariff-related concerns and geopolitical uncertainties kept global investors on edge. Fresh threats from US President Donald Trump over additional tariffs on select European countries triggered a global risk-off mood, which weighed on domestic sentiment.

“Persistent selling by foreign investors, along with continued weakness in the rupee against the dollar, added to the pressure on Indian equities, keeping participants defensive through the session,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

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.