Sensex drops over 700 points on FII outflows, trade-related concerns

Mumbai: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tanked nearly 1 per cent in late morning trade on Monday as persistent foreign fund outflows, concerns over further US tariffs on Indian exports and geopolitical developments dampened investors' sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 715.17 points or 0.85 per cent to 82,861.07 in late morning trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 209.9 points or 0.81 per cent to 25,473.40.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Eternal, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the biggest laggards.

However, Trent, NTPC, Asian Paints and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,769.31 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 5,595.84 crore, according to exchange data.

"Indian equity markets opened on a bearish note, extending the cautious tone of the past week as global cues remained mixed. Geopolitical uncertainties, tariff-related concerns, and sustained FII selling continued to weigh on sentiment," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

In the past five trading days, the BSE benchmark declined 2,185.77 points or 2.54 per cent, and the Nifty tumbled 645.25 points or 2.45 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded higher.

US markets ended in positive territory on Friday.

"The market has turned distinctly weak, weighed down by a series of India-specific and global geopolitical events. Geopolitical developments in Venezuela, the crisis in Iran and Trump’s threats regarding Greenland are also being viewed by the markets with concern," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.24 per cent to USD 63.49 per barrel.

On Friday, the Sensex tumbled 604.72 points or 0.72 per cent to sink below the 84,000-level and settle at 83,576.24. The Nifty dropped 193.55 points or 0.75 per cent to 25,683.30.