Stock Markets Go South for 8th Session on Relentless Foreign Fund Outflows; Sensex Falls 97 Pts

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Tuesday after a volatile session, marking the eighth consecutive session of southward movement due to relentless foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of the RBI's interest rate decision.

Giving up early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 97.32 points or 0.12% to settle at 80,267.62. During the day, it hit a high of 80,677.82 and a low of 80,201.15. In eight trading days, the Sensex has tanked 2,746.34 points or 3.30%.

The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 23.80 points or 0.10% to 24,611.10.

Trading remained subdued on the monthly expiry day and markets moved in a narrow range. Metal, auto and banking stocks, particularly PSU banks, advanced while realty and consumer durables shares faced selling pressure.

Caution prevailed in the market ahead of the RBI's interest rate decision on Wednesday, analysts said.

"The domestic market traded within a narrow range on the monthly expiry day, as investors exercised caution ahead of the RBI’s policy. The market made an attempt to stabilize after last week’s sustained decline," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said.

Market participants are keenly awaiting the RBI’s commentary for insights into future interest rate trajectories, although a status quo on rates is widely expected, Nair added.

Among Sensex firms, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and Reliance Industries were the major laggards.

However, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever were among the major gainers. In Asian markets, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in positive territory, while South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended lower.

In the broader market, shares of Man Industries (India) Ltd tanked 10.6% after Sebi barred the company and its three senior executives from accessing the securities markets.

The BSE midcap gauge ended marginally higher by 0.04%, while smallcap index ended flat, almost unchanged.

Among sectoral indices, telecommunication tanked 0.93%, realty by 0.79%, consumer durables by 0.78%, teck by 0.50%, FMCG by 0.39% and utilities by 0.35%.

Metal jumped 1.11% and commodities climbed 0.65%, while financial services (0.27%), auto (0.30%), and bankex (0.22%) also advanced.

"Indian equities ended the session on a flat note as investors remained cautious, with many choosing to stay on the sidelines, awaiting fresh catalysts to push benchmark indices beyond near-term resistance levels. In the absence of new triggers, market momentum remained subdued.

"Looking ahead, all eyes are on the Reserve Bank of India’s upcoming monetary policy decision, which is expected to be a key driver of near-term sentiment," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended higher on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,831.59 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹3,845.87 crore, according to exchange data.

The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee began its three-day deliberations on Monday. The RBI rate-setting panel's decision will be announced on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 1% to USD 67.29 a barrel.