Stock markets cut short 6-day rally, Sensex falls 344 pts amid profit-taking, foreign fund outflows
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Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Friday amid profit-taking in FMCG and banking shares following a six-day rally and fresh foreign fund outflows.
Snapping its six-day winning streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 344.52 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 84,211.88. During the day, it fell by 599.25 points or 0.70 per cent to 83,957.15.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 96.25 points or 0.37 per cent to 25,795.15 as 34 of its constituents closed lower and 16 with gains.
Profit-taking emerged after a six-day rally, during which key indices soared by around 3 per cent on strong festive demand and foreign fund inflows. Both Sensex and Nifty hit their 52-week highs on Thursday.
Sentiment was further dampened after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India does not do trade agreements in a hurry or with a "gun to our head".
Among Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever dropped the most by 3.20 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Titan, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were also among the laggards.
However, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
"We are in active dialogue with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head," Goyal said at Berlin Dialogue in Germany. The minister is in Berlin to participate in the dialogue.
"Equity markets ended the week on a subdued note after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks that India will not rush into trade agreements with restrictive conditions dampened hopes of an early India–US trade deal, leading to profit-booking across sectors following a strong rally earlier in the week," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,165.94 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, were net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 3,893.73 crore on a net basis in the previous trade.
"Nifty ended lower by 96 points to close at 25,795, snapping a 6-day run-up. Markets were pressured by US sanctions on Russian oil companies and profit-taking by investors," Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.24 per cent to USD 65.83 a barrel.
Rising for the sixth straight session on Thursday, the Sensex climbed 130.06 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 84,556.40. The Nifty ended 22.80 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 25,891.40.
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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.
