Indian equities extend losing streak as foreign outflows and oil price dip weigh on markets
India's benchmark indices opened lower on Oct. 26, with the Nifty hovering around 22,600 after a fourth consecutive session of declines, while foreign investors turned net buyers and domestic institutions continued buying equities.
Indian benchmark indices opened flat to negative on Monday, Oct. 26, tracking the GIFT Nifty, which was down about 22 points at 22,585.50 in early trade. The Nifty recovered to around 22,600 after slipping below 22,400 on Friday, Oct. 23, amid broad-based selling across sectors.
Markets opened higher but fell within the first hour, with the Nifty reaching an intraday low of 22,372 as sustained foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices dampened sentiment. At the close, the Sensex was down 125.56 points, or 0.17%, at 73,123.83, while the Nifty50 fell 87.65 points, or 0.39%, to 22,600, after recovering 228 points from its low.
For the week, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended two-week winning streaks, declining 2.0% and 2.35% respectively. Overseas markets also opened lower, with Japan's Nikkei down 0.5% and South Korea's index down 0.9%. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 1.23% to 52,215.16, the S&P 500 slipped 0.52% to 7,623.68, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.21% to 25,955.34.
The U.S. dollar index traded lower at 101.65, while 10-year Treasury yields were at 4.97%, down from a recent peak of 5.36%. Asian currencies showed mixed movements against the dollar, with the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah weakening, and the South Korean won, Japanese yen, and Chinese renminbi gaining modestly.
Crude oil prices retreated, with U.S. crude futures down $1.60, or 1.55%, at $101.67 per barrel, and Brent futures down $1.56, or 1.34%, at $115.16. Gold prices steadied around $4,000 an ounce after a sharp weekly decline.
Fund flows showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on Oct. 23, purchasing equities worth Rs 887 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers for the fourth session, buying Rs 3,236 crore of equities.