Bears tighten grip as markets fall for fifth straight session

Bengaluru: India's benchmark indexes closed lower for the fifth straight session on Monday to their lowest levels in nearly eight months, on the back of concerns over slowing growth in the United States and unabated selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). 

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee dropped 4 paise to 86.72 against the US dollar on back of the fall in equity markets and a rise in Brent crude prices. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 1.06% to 22,553.35, while the 30-share BSE Sensex lost 1.14% to 74,454.41. Investors on the Sensex saw their combined wealth erode by Rs 4.22 lakh crore on Monday.

“Global headwinds continue to weigh on the domestic market, with persistent volatility causing uncertainty among retail investors, who generally have a lower risk appetite. Weak US consumer sentiment and tariff concerns may further pressure export-oriented sectors such as IT,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

“Looking ahead, the pace of earnings downgrades is expected to ease, supported by increased government spending, lower interest rates, and tax reductions. These factors are likely to provide a boost to sectors such as FMCG, consumer discretionary, and banking,” Nair said.

From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Zomato, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and NTPC were among the biggest laggards. In contrast, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Nestle and ITC were among the gainers.

Among BSE sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT dropped 2.60%, telecom 2.26%, metal 2.16%, commodities 1.53% and utilities 1.42 per cent%. The BSE smallcap gauge declined 1.31%, and the midcap index dipped 0.78%.

The rupee’s drop against the dollar came amid a massive outflow of foreign capital. However, a flat greenback against major currencies prevented a sharp fall in the domestic unit.

"Rupee traded weak, pressured by a strong dollar index and FII sell-off in secondary markets. With key levels being broken in the capital markets, the rupee continues to digest weakness due to sustained capital outflows,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities. 

FIIs have pulled out over Rs 23,710 crore from equity markets so far this month, pushing total outflows past Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 amid rising global trade tensions. In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Equity markets were closed in Tokyo for a holiday. European markets were trading mostly in positive territory. US markets ended significantly lower on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.4% to $74.46 a barrel.

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