Stock markets cut short 6-day rally, Sensex falls 344 points amid profit-taking, foreign fund outflows

Snapping its six-day winning streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 344.52 points or 0.41% to settle at 84,211.88. During the day, it fell by 599.25 points or 0.70% to 83,957.15.

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Friday amid profit-taking in FMCG and banking shares following a six-day rally and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Snapping its six-day winning streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 344.52 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 84,211.88. During the day, it fell by 599.25 points or 0.70 per cent to 83,957.15.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 96.25 points or 0.37 per cent to 25,795.15 as 34 of its constituents closed lower and 16 with gains.

Profit-taking emerged after a six-day rally, during which key indices soared by around 3 per cent on strong festive demand and foreign fund inflows. Both Sensex and Nifty hit their 52-week highs on Thursday.

Sentiment was further dampened after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India does not do trade agreements in a hurry or with a "gun to our head".

Among Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever dropped the most by 3.20 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Titan, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were also among the laggards.

However, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.

"We are in active dialogue with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head," Goyal said at Berlin Dialogue in Germany. The minister is in Berlin to participate in the dialogue.

"Equity markets ended the week on a subdued note after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks that India will not rush into trade agreements with restrictive conditions dampened hopes of an early India–US trade deal, leading to profit-booking across sectors following a strong rally earlier in the week," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher.

Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,165.94 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, were net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 3,893.73 crore on a net basis in the previous trade.

"Nifty ended lower by 96 points to close at 25,795, snapping a 6-day run-up. Markets were pressured by US sanctions on Russian oil companies and profit-taking by investors," Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.24 per cent to USD 65.83 a barrel.

Rising for the sixth straight session on Thursday, the Sensex climbed 130.06 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 84,556.40. The Nifty ended 22.80 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 25,891.40.