Mumbai Equity Markets Report: Early Decline Amidst Mixed Global Trends
In early trading on Tuesday, Mumbai’s equity benchmark indices faced a downward trend, with the Sensex and Nifty both recording declines. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 134.27 points to 79,514.65, while the NSE Nifty dropped 38.65 points to 24,308.35.
The decline was largely attributed to weakness in blue-chip stocks such as HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, and Hindustan Unilever. Conversely, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Tata Consultancy Services, and Axis Bank emerged as notable gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) resumed selling activities, offloading equities worth ₹4,680.51 crore on Monday following a brief pause. This outflow of foreign funds contributed to the bearish sentiment in the market.
Global market trends provided little direction for domestic equities. Asian markets exhibited mixed performance, with Seoul and Shanghai registering losses while Tokyo and Hong Kong saw positive movement. In the US, markets ended with mixed results on Monday, reflecting a lack of clear direction.
The retail inflation rate in India eased to a five-year low of 3.54% in July, driven by lower food prices and a favorable base effect. This decline in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was seen as a positive development for the economy.
“Market’s dismissal of the Hindenburg report as inconsequential is significant. The market which has been climbing all walls of worries has climbed this Hindenburg wall too, instilling confidence in retail investors and DIIs flush with money,” commented V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. He also noted that the drop in CPI inflation is a positive sign for the economy.
India’s industrial production slowed to a five-month low of 4.2% in June 2024, primarily due to a downturn in the manufacturing sector, although the power and mining sectors continued to show strong performance.
On the commodities front, global oil benchmark Brent crude decreased by 0.90% to USD 81.56 per barrel.
On Monday, the BSE benchmark ended lower by 56.99 points, or 0.07%, at 79,648.92, while the Nifty closed down by 20.50 points, or 0.08%, at 24,347.
