Indian stock markets displayed modest gains on Monday, although weak global cues weighed on investor sentiment. While sectors like financials, consumer durables, realty, and banking shares recorded gains, losses were witnessed in IT, oil & gas, and pharmaceutical shares.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares of Indian companies worth ₹10,843.68 crore and purchased stocks amounting to ₹8,510.65 crore on Monday, resulting in a net outflow of ₹2,333.03 crore, according to data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). This followed a similar trend on Friday when FIIs offloaded equities worth ₹1,326.74 crore.
On the domestic front, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹8,621.77 crore and sold shares worth ₹7,042.49 crore, leading to a net inflow of ₹1,579.28 crore, as per exchange data.
The 30-share BSE Sensex made modest gains, rising 14.54 points or 0.02%, to close at 66,023.69. During the session, it surged by 461.6 points, reaching a high of 66,225.63 and a low of 65,764.03.
Sector-wise, realty stood out with a 1.56% jump, while financial services climbed 0.46%, consumer durables advanced by 0.43%, and bankex was up by 0.29%. The commodities sector also rose by 0.23%.
The broader NSE Nifty settled marginally higher, adding 0.30 points to reach 19,674.55.
Among the top performers within the BSE Sensex companies, Bajaj Finance led the way with a substantial gain of 4.64%. Other major gainers included Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, NTPC, JSW Steel, and Tata Steel.
However, certain technology and banking companies faced declines, with Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, IndusInd Bank, and HCL Technologies registering losses.
The Indian rupee experienced a slight depreciation, falling by 20 paise to close at 83.14 against the US dollar on Monday. This depreciation was attributed to rising crude oil prices and the strengthening of the US dollar against major global currencies.
The domestic currency opened weak at 83.04 and traded in the range of 83.04 to 83.15 against the US dollar.
Additionally, India’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by $867 million to reach $593.037 billion in the week ending September 15, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. These developments in the currency and foreign exchange markets reflect the ongoing challenges and dynamics impacting the Indian financial landscape.