Mumbai, Feb 27: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly unchanged on Thursday as volatility gripped the markets amid persistent foreign fund outflows and the monthly derivatives expiry.
The BSE Sensex inched up 10.31 points or 0.01% to close at 74,612.43, swinging between a high of 74,834.09 and a low of 74,520.78 during the session, marking an intraday movement of 313.31 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty slipped marginally by 2.50 points to settle at 22,545.05, extending its losing streak for the seventh consecutive session.
Sectoral Performance and Stock Movements
Gains in financials and metal stocks were counterbalanced by losses in capital goods and auto shares.Top Sensex Gainers:
- Bajaj Finserv
- Bajaj Finance
- Sun Pharma
- Zomato
- Tata Steel
- Nestle
Other major laggards included:
- Tata Motors
- Mahindra & Mahindra
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- Tech Mahindra
- State Bank of India
Market Sentiment and Expert Takeaways
According to Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd., traders exercised caution due to the derivatives expiry and the prevailing market sell-off."India's expensive valuations have been driving foreign fund outflows for the past 3-5 months. Additionally, tariff-related concerns and a weakening currency have heightened investor anxiety," he noted.
Ajit Mishra, SVP (Research) at Religare Broking Ltd., added that markets remained range-bound due to oversold conditions. "Nifty initially surged but soon flattened, closing unchanged for the second consecutive session," he said.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, pointed out that the RBI’s move to ease lending norms for microfinance institutions and NBFCs boosted financial stocks. However, global sentiment remained weak due to fresh uncertainty over US tariff policies.
Sectoral Trends
Among BSE sectoral indices, the worst performers were:- Industrials (-2.47%)
- Realty (-2.06%)
- Power (-1.80%)
- Capital Goods (-1.58%)
- Auto (-1.57%)
Global and FII Activity
In the global markets, Tokyo and Shanghai ended higher, while Seoul and Hong Kong closed in the red. European markets traded mostly lower, and US markets finished mixed on Wednesday.Meanwhile, Brent crude oil edged up 0.69% to $73.03 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading ₹3,529.10 crore worth of equities on Tuesday.
Stock markets remained closed on Wednesday for Mahashivratri.
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