Equity markets fall in early trade after 6-day rally
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Tuesday due to emergence of profit-taking in-tandem with a weak trend in global equity markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 292.95 points to 84,658 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 83.3 points to 25,930.15.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards.
However, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and Adani Ports were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading sharply lower.
US markets ended in negative territory on Monday.
"Tuesday may bring pockets of volatility due to weekly F&O expiry and soft global cues, yet the broader tone stays constructive, buoyed by political stability, cooling inflation, soft crude, trade-deal optimism and FII buying," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The first phase of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is "nearing closure" and would address the hefty 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods, in addition to resolving America's market access issues, a government official said on Monday.
The US has imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and another 25 per cent on Indian goods entering American markets for buying Russian crude oil.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 442.17 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 1,465.86 crore in the previous trade.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.47 per cent to USD 63.90 per barrel.
Rallying for the sixth consecutive day on Monday, the Sensex climbed 388.17 points, or 0.46 per cent, to close at 84,950.95. The Nifty edged higher by 103.40 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 26,013.45.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
