Sensex, Nifty tank over 1 pc amid foreign fund exodus; take downtrend to 5th day
Mumbai, Feb 11 (PTI): Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tanked more than 1 per cent on Tuesday amid unabated foreign fund outflows and fresh US tariffs that reignited trade war fears.
Declining for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 1,018.20 points or 1.32 per cent to settle at a two-week low of 76,293.60. During the day, it tumbled 1,281.21 points or 1.65 per cent to 76,030.59.
The NSE Nifty cracked 309.80 points or 1.32 per cent to 23,071.80 with 44 of its constituents closing lower and six with gains.
Among 30 Sensex shares, Zomato tanked over 5 per cent. Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever and ITC were the biggest laggards.
Bharti Airtel was the only gainer among Sensex scrips.
In the past five days, the BSE bellwether gauge has slumped 2,290.21 points or 2.91 per cent, while the Nifty tanked 667.45 points or 2.81 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,463.72 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
"The ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policies and tariffs, coupled with domestic economic growth concerns and persistent selling by FIIs, is dampening market sentiment. The mid and smallcap stocks experienced significant declines due to demand concerns and higher valuations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge plunged 3.40 per cent and midcap index tumbled 2.88 per cent.
In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower while Seoul ended higher.
European markets were trading mostly lower. US markets ended in positive territory on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.15 per cent to USD 76.74 a barrel.
The Sensex dropped 548.39 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at a week's low of 77,311.80 on Monday. The Nifty declined 178.35 points or 0.76 per cent to 23,381.60.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
