“Despite high valuations, the undertone of the market continues to be bullish,” the Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) amid continuous foreign fund outflows, weak trends from Asian markets and selling in banking stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 138.58 points or 0.17% to 80,664.28 in early trade. The NSE Nifty snapped its four-day rally and slipped 15.20 points to 24,683.65.

From the 30 Sensex firms, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid and Axis Bank were the laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv and Adani Ports were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading lower on Wednesday (August 21, 2024).

The US markets settled lower on Tuesday (August 20, 2024).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) again turned sellers on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) as they offloaded equities worth ₹1,457.96 crore, according to exchange data.

Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,252.10 crore on Tuesday (August 20, 2024).

“The trend of FII selling and DII buying continues. However, the fall in the dollar index has the potential to arrest the trend of FII outflows. But big FII investment will happen only if Indian valuations correct, which appears unlikely in the present context of sustained domestic inflows,” V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

“Despite high valuations, the undertone of the market continues to be bullish,” Mr. Vijayakumar added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.11% to $77.09 a barrel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 378.18 points or 0.47% to settle at 80,802.86. Rising for the fourth consecutive session, the NSE Nifty surged 126.20 points or 0.51% to 24,698.85.