Ahead Of RBI Policy Announcement, Markets Decline In Early Trade; Sensex Falls By Roughly 200 Points

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell from their record highs and traded lower in early trade on Friday, as investors were cautious ahead of RBI’s interest rate announcement, amid muted global trends and increased crude oil prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 196.49 points or 0.25 percent to 74,031.14. The broader NSE Nifty lost 72.85 points or 0.32 percent to 22,441.80.

Among the laggards were Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, L&T, Tata Steel, and Axis Bank.

However, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserve, Nestle India, and Mahindra & Mahindra defied the trend, trading higher.

Asian markets were trading down, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 shedding 2.42 percent, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.89 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 0.69 percent.

Brent crude gained 0.35 percent to USD 90.97 a barrel.

The US markets finished mostly lower on Thursday.

European markets finished Thursday’s session on a mixed note.

According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold securities worth Rs 1,136.47 crore on Thursday.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark Sensex soared 350.81 points or 0.47 percent to reach a career-high of 74,227.63, while the NSE Nifty also reached a new high of 22,514.65, up 80 points or 0.36 percent.

Also read: Sensex And Nifty Reach All-Time Highs As HDFC And TCS Soar