Sensex, Nifty fall 5th day on US tariffs, West Asia tensions

Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday, extending the losing streak for the fifth consecutive session, as investors remained cautious due to rising oil prices amid geopolitical tensions in West Asia and renewed concerns over US trade tariffs. Fresh foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip HDFC Bank also dented market sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 331.62 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 76,059.77. During the day, it tanked 916.96 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 75,474.43. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 102.15 points, or 0.43 per cent, to end at 23,767.45. From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and Infosys were among the major laggards. IT services company Infosys declined 1 per cent after it tempered the upper end of its full-year revenue forecast to between 1.5 per cent and 3 per cent amid continued macroeconomic uncertainty.

“Indian equity markets extended their losing streak to a fifth consecutive session as investors remained cautious amid lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and renewed concerns over US trade tariffs. Weakness across Asian markets reinforced the risk-off mood, prompting broad-based selling despite signs of easing pressure in energy markets,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

“Markets traded volatile and ended lower on Friday, extending their losing streak for the fifth consecutive session amid persistent geopolitical concerns, elevated crude oil prices and disappointing earnings from select large-cap companies,” Ajit Mishra — SVP Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 3.66 per cent to $96.98 per barrel on Friday, after surpassing $100 per barrel in the previous session.

Investor sentiment remained subdued as Brent crude prices surged above the $100 per barrel mark following a fresh escalation in tensions in the Middle East, reviving concerns over inflation and its impact on the domestic economy, he added.   

“Market sentiment is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, as sustained oil prices in a higher range could begin to adversely impact key macroeconomic indicators and growth dynamics. Washington’s new tariffs on imports added another headwind for export-driven economies, with technology-heavy markets having been hit the most as higher rates weigh on growth and investors are increasingly seeking to diversify their concentrated exposure to other emerging market opportunities,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,999.23 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. 

The BSE MidCap Select index climbed 0.46 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index edged higher by 0.08 per cent.

Among sectors, Auto declined 0.96 per cent, Telecommunication 0.90 per cent, Power 0.67 per cent, Consumer Discretionary 0.65 per cent, Oil & Gas 0.65 per cent, Realty 0.54 per cent, Metal 0.50 per cent and Energy 0.39 per cent.

Focused IT jumped 1.30 per cent, IT 0.66 per cent, PSU Bank 0.65 per cent, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt 0.46 per cent, Insurance 0.43 per cent, and FMCG 0.20 per cent.

In the last five trading days, the BSE benchmark tanked 2,091.68 points, or 2.67 per cent, and the Nifty declined 566.85 points, or 2.32 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI tanked 5.72 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also ended lower.

Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended lower on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Sensex declined 363.66 points, or 0.47 per cent, to settle at 76,391.39. The Nifty dipped 126.65 points, or 0.53 per cent, to end at 23,869.60.