Markets open lower as global cues, FII selling weigh

Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Monday, tracking weakness across global markets and continued selling by foreign investors, while uncertainty over a potential India–US trade agreement weighed on sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 384.39 points to 84,883.27 in early trade, while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 122.9 points to 25,924.05.

Selling pressure was seen in several heavyweight stocks. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Trent, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv and Power Grid were among the major laggards in early deals.

Some stocks, however, bucked the broader trend. Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics and Tata Steel traded higher.

Asian markets also remained under pressure, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all quoting lower. Wall Street ended in the red on Friday.

“Globally, Asian markets are trading lower this morning, led by weakness across Japan and South Korea, as investors turn cautious ahead of key economic data from China and the US,” said Ponmudi R, adding that US technology stocks continued to show signs of stress.

Foreign fund flows remained a concern. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought shares worth Rs 3,868.94 crore.

“A major drag on the market continues to be the elusive US–India trade deal, which is impacting exports to the US, widening the trade deficit and contributing to the continued depreciation of the rupee,” said V K Vijayakumar.

The rupee weakened further, slipping 9 paise to a fresh all-time low of 90.58 against the US dollar in early trade. Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.52 per cent to USD 61.43 per barrel.

On Friday, equities had ended on a positive note, with the Sensex gaining 449.53 points, or 0.53 per cent, to close at 85,267.66, while the Nifty advanced 148.40 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 26,046.95.