The benchmark Sensex slipped nearly 200 points and extended its losing run for the eighth consecutive session as a combination of poor corporate earnings and US President Donald Trump’s tariff threat spooked investors.
As a result of the risk-off behaviour, the 30-share gauge settled lower 199.76 points at 75939.21. During intra-day trades, it plummeted 699.33 points to 75439.64. At the NSE, the Nifty declined 102.15 points to 22929.25.
In these eight sessions, the Sensex has crashed 2644.6 points or 3.36 per cent while the Nifty saw cuts of 810 points.
Brokers said that while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been persistent sellers, investor sentiment has been hit by the continuous loss in stock values, and Trump’s tariff threats which have led to the fears of a global trade war.
Further, corporate earnings for the third quarter ended December 31, 2024 have been tepid, thereby leading to valuation concerns.
Provisional data showed FPIs selling stocks worth ₹4,295 crore in Friday even as domestic institutions were net buyers to the tune of ₹ 4,364 crore.
So far in this calendar year, the FPIs have offloaded stocks valued at nearly $11.50 billion. In January alone, their sales were at over $9 billion.
“The risk-averse sentiment continues to rule investors’ minds as corporate earnings are significantly lower than the market expectations during the start of the year, especially for mid- and small-caps,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
“Muted earnings trend, INR depreciation along with external factors like tariffs are expected to keep the sentiments weak in the near term, which could further push FPIs outflows,’’ Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
Adani Ports was the largest loser in the Sensex pack on Friday with its shares falling over 4 per cent.
The picture was better in the forex markets where the rupee ended with gains against the dollar.
The domestic unit settled at 86.82 against its previous close of 86.89. The rupee has gained from an historic low of 87.95 on Monday due to heavy intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
