By Vivek Kumar M
Dec 17 (Reuters) – India’s equity benchmarks inched lower for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as sentiment remained subdued amid concerns over foreign outflows and rupee depreciation, with no clarity regarding an India-U.S.
trade deal.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.16% to 25,818.55, and the BSE Sensex lost 0.14% to 84,559.65. They are down about 0.9% in three sessions.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors fell on the day. The broader mid-caps and small-caps lost 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.
“The market is likely to trade in a tight range and struggle for further upside unless something changes dramatically with regard to either a potential trade deal between India and U.S.
or constant foreign outflows,” said UR Bhat, co-founder of Alphaniti Fintech.
Foreign investors have sold Indian equities worth 130.5 billion rupees ($1.44 billion) in eight sessions till Tuesday.
They have offloaded $1.92 billion so far in December.
The Reserve Bank of India intervened aggressively in the currency markets on Wednesday by selling dollars to prop up the rupee in a bid to stem its one-way decline after it slipped below 91 in the previous session.
Analysts said that hopes for a deal with Washington before the year’s end appear to be dimming.
Heavyweight financials fell 0.5% on the day, with major constituents HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank dropping 1% each.
Elsewhere, U.S. jobs growth rebounded more than expected in November even as the unemployment rate rose to a four-year high, keeping the outlook on Federal Reserve’s future rate action uncertain.
Among individual stocks, Akzo Nobel India slumped 13.6% after multiple block deals.
Reports said the promoter was looking to sell a stake in the paint company.
Meesho soared 20%, nearly doubling in a week since its market debut, after UBS initiated coverage with a “buy” rating.
($1 = 90.3900 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman, Rashmi Aich and Harikrishnan Nair)
