Sensex declines for 3rd day, sheds 367 pts on foreign fund outflows

Mumbai: Benchmark stock index Sensex dropped by 367 points in its third straight day of losses on Friday due to foreign fund outflows and lack of any major domestic triggers.

Falling for the third consecutive day, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 367.25 points or 0.43 per cent to settle at 85,041.45 in a thin trade. During the day, it tanked 470.88 points or 0.55 per cent to 84,937.82.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 99.80 points or 0.38 per cent to 26,042.30, registering its second day of decline.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal and Sun Pharma were among the biggest laggards.

However, Titan, NTPC, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever were the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index settled in positive territory. Markets in Hong Kong were closed.

Stock markets in Europe were closed on Friday.

US markets were closed on Thursday for Christmas.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,721.26 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 2,381.34 crore, according to exchange data.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.31 per cent up to USD 62.43 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the Sensex dropped by 116.14 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 85,408.70. The Nifty edged lower by 35.05 points or 0.13 per cent to 26,142.10. The domestic stock markets were closed on Thursday for Christmas.