February 24th 2025.
The stock market in Mumbai, also known as BSE Sensex, has been declining for the fifth consecutive day, causing the benchmark to fall below the crucial 75,000 mark. This trend is following a similar pattern in the US market and is fueled by foreign investors pulling out their funds, raising concerns about US tariffs.
The 30-share BSE benchmark, which measures the performance of 30 major companies in the stock market, plummeted a significant 856.65 points or 1.14 per cent, ultimately settling at 74,454.41. At one point during the day, it had dropped even further, reaching 923.62 points or 1.22 per cent down to 74,387.44. The Nifty, which measures the performance of the top 50 companies in the stock market, also saw a decline of 242.55 points or 1.06 per cent, ultimately settling at 22,553.35.
In the last five trading sessions, the BSE Sensex lost 1,542.45 points or 2 per cent, and the Nifty saw a decline of 406.15 points or 1.76 per cent. Among the biggest laggards in the Sensex pack were HCL Tech, Zomato, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, and NTPC. However, there were a few gainers as well, including Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Nestle, and ITC.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors have offloaded equities worth Rs 3,449.15 crore on Friday. This adds to the total outflow of over Rs 23,710 crore from equity markets so far this month, bringing the total outflows past Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 due to rising global trade tensions.
Ameya Ranadive, a Chartered Market Technician and Senior Technical Analyst at StoxBox, stated that the stock market experienced a sharp decline to an eight-month low as market sentiment remained low. This decline was primarily due to significant losses in heavyweight stocks, particularly in the IT sector. This weakness was triggered by reports of declining consumer confidence in the US, which has raised concerns about the country's growth outlook.
Ranadive also noted that this decline has affected the broader market, causing both small and midcap indices to drop. In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong also saw a decline, while Tokyo remained closed for a holiday. However, European markets were trading mostly in positive territory, while US markets ended significantly lower on Friday.
Vinod Nair, the Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, stated that global headwinds continue to weigh on the domestic market, causing persistent volatility and uncertainty among retail investors who generally have a lower risk appetite. He also mentioned that weak US consumer sentiment and tariff concerns may further pressure export-oriented sectors such as IT.
The BSE smallcap gauge and midcap index also saw a decline of 1.31 per cent and 0.78 per cent, respectively. In the global market, the oil benchmark Brent crude saw a slight increase of 0.04 per cent, reaching USD 74.46 per barrel.
On Friday, the BSE benchmark saw a decline of 424.90 points or 0.56 per cent, settling at 75,311.06, while the Nifty saw a decline of 117.25 points or 0.51 per cent, settling at 22,795.90. This continued decline in the stock market has caused concern among investors and experts, and it remains to be seen how the market will respond in the coming days.
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