Sensex drops 138 points on foreign fund outflow

Stock markets declined for the third straight day on Wednesday due to profit-taking in auto, pharma and capital goods shares amid relentless foreign fund outflows.

In a volatile session, benchmark BSE Sensex declined 138.74 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 80,081.98 with 22 of its constituents ending lower.

Intra-day, the benchmark fell below the 80,000-mark to hit a low of 79,891.68.

The NSE Nifty closed lower by 36.60 points or 0.15 per cent to 24,435.50.

From the 30 Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, NTPC, Adani Ports, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank and Titan were among the biggest laggards.

Bajaj Finance climbed nearly 5 per cent after the firm reported a 13 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,014 crore in the second quarter ended September 2024.

Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, HCL Technologies and Bajaj Finserv were among other big gainers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 3,978.61 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 5,869.06 crore.

"Investor mindset turned gloomy with the tepid earnings and a knee jerk reaction from FIIs, which dragged the market sentiment. However, mid and smallcaps are experiencing bargain hunting following the recent decline, though the sustainability of this momentum-driven buying remains uncertain.

"The US 10-year yield inched higher, signalling a slower tempo of rate cuts by the FED, which is poised for a risk-off sentiment towards EMs," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher while Tokyo ended lower.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.97 per cent to $75.30 a barrel.