Stock markets update: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Monday amid weak trends in Asian markets and unabated foreign fund outflows. In the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 318.75 points to 64,940.70 in early trade. The Nifty declined 82.8 points to 19,442.75 points.
Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asian Paints were the major laggards.
NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma and Power Grid were the gainers. In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory while Tokyo quoted in the green. The US markets ended with significant gains on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.88 per cent to USD 80.71 a barrel. Stock exchanges conducted a one-hour special Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali on November 12.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 190.06 crore on Sunday, according to exchange data.
Rupee ends almost flat against dollar
The rupee retreated from high levels on Friday to close with a modest gain of 1 paisa at 83.28 against the US dollar amid a weak American currency overseas and positive domestic equity markets.
Unabated foreign capital outflows and rising crude prices kept the local currency under pressure, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.28 and plunged to 83.49 against the greenback during intra-day. The domestic currency also hit a high of 83.28. It finally settled at 83.28 against the dollar, registering a gain of just 1 paisa from its previous close.
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