Tariff trouble, foreign fund outflows keep equity benchmarks' slide show on for 3rd day

Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell on Friday, extending their downward journey for the third consecutive day, as investors stayed under pressure due to imposition of high US tariffs and relentless foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 270.92 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 79,809.65. During the day, it declined 338.81 points or 0.42 per cent to 79,741.76.

The 50-share NSE Nifty edged lower by 74.05 points or 0.30 per cent to 24,426.85.

The US has imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering America from August 27. This high duty is expected to impact exports of certain labour-intensive sectors like textiles and leather and footwear and shrimp.

"Nifty ended with marginal loss of 74 points to close at 24,426.85 due to persistent concerns over the steep 50 per cent US tariffs on Indian exports," Siddhartha Khemka - Head Of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra fell by 2.96 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries which lost 2.21 per cent. Infosys, NTPC, Tata Motors and Tech Mahindra were also among the laggards.

However, ITC, Bharat Electronics, Trent, and Larsen & Toubro were among the major gainers.

The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.41 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.29 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty declined 1.33 per cent, energy (1.01 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.95 per cent), IT (0.94 per cent), auto (0.84 per cent), oil & gas (0.77 per cent) and services (0.63 per cent).

BSE FMCG, industrials, capital goods, consumer durables and power were the gainers.

As many as 2,187 stocks declined while 1,890 advanced and 160 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Friday announced the launch of Reliance Jio's initial public offering in the first half of 2026.

Addressing the 48th Annual General Meeting of RIL, Ambani announced that Jio will now expand its operations overseas and develop its own artificial intelligence technology.

On Thursday, the Sensex tanked 705.97 points or 0.87 per cent to settle at 80,080.57. The Nifty dived 211.15 points or 0.85 per cent to 24,500.90.

In the past three trading days, the BSE benchmark has plummeted 1,826.26 points or 2.23 per cent, and the Nifty tumbled 540.9 points or 2.16 per cent.

"Investor sentiment remained cautious as markets attempted to digest the full impact of the US tariff. The persistence of this issue is likely to heighten the future competitiveness of India's exports in some areas.

"Equity benchmarks underperformed, with mid and smallcap segments particularly affected by risk aversion and stretched valuations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,856.51 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,920.34 crore, according to exchange data.

"The Sensex ended Friday's trade on a subdued note, slipping 270.92 points to close at 79,809.65 as persistent concerns over US tariffs on Indian exports weighed on investor sentiment and kept foreign inflows under pressure," Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory, PL Capital, said.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark dropped 1,497.2 points or 1.84 per cent, and the Nifty declined 443.25 points or 1.78 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled lower while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended in positive territory.

Markets in Europe were trading lower.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.80 per cent to USD 68.07 a barrel. PTI SUM HVA