Stock markets fall for 3rd day on foreign fund outflows; Sensex drops nearly 314 points

Mumbai: Stock markets closed lower for the third consecutive session on Tuesday with the benchmark Sensex sliding nearly 314 points due to selling in IT and auto shares as foreign fund outflows dampened investor sentiment.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 313.70 points or 0.37 per cent to settle at 84,587.01 with 24 of its constituents closing lower and six with gains. During the day, it fell by 363.98 points or 0.42 per cent to 84,536.73.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 74.70 points or 0.29 per cent to 25,884.80. Nifty has dropped 307 points or over 1 per cent in three sessions since Friday to slip below 26,000 level while Sensex has shed 1,045 points or 1.2 per cent during the period.

Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Trent, Infosys, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.

However, Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Eternal, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries were the gainers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,171.75 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 4,512.87 crore in the previous trade.

"The domestic market witnessed sharp volatility on monthly expiry day, driven by a weakening INR and continued FII outflows. Caution prevailed as investors awaited clarity on a possible rate cut in the upcoming FOMC meeting and progress on the Indo-US trade deal, despite some improving signals," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

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

Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended significantly higher on Monday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.69 per cent to USD 62.93 per barrel.

On Monday, the Sensex declined by 331.21 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 84,900.71. The Nifty fell by 108.65 points or 0.42 per cent to 25,959.50.