India's Stock Market Takes a Hit: Foreign Outflows and Trade Uncertainty Weigh Heavy

Indian Stock Market Sees Early Morning Drop

On Monday, India's equity benchmarks saw a drop in early trade, with the Nifty 50 down 0.51% at 25,913.45 points and the BSE Sensex losing 0.46% to 84,875.85 as of 9:30 a.m. IST. This decline is largely attributed to foreign outflows and uncertainty surrounding a trade deal with the US.

Record Low for the Rupee

The Indian rupee hit a record low of 90.56 per dollar, extending its recent slide. All 16 major sectors fell, with small-caps and mid-caps down 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.

Impact of US-India Trade Deal

According to VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, the elusive US-India trade deal is a major drag on the market, impacting India's exports to the US, widening of trade deficit, and continuous depreciation in the rupee. The US imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods earlier this year, partly to punish India for its Russian oil purchases.

Foreign Investors Sell Shares

Foreign investors sold shares worth 11.1 billion rupees ($122.6 million) on Friday, marking their sixth consecutive session of selling. The total outflows in December have reached $2 billion so far.

Stock Performance

The heaviest-weighted financials fell 0.5% and were the biggest laggard on the Nifty. Oil and Natural Gas Corp slipped 3% and was the top Nifty loser. On the other hand, KEC International jumped 3.5% after securing orders worth 11.5 billion rupees ($126.9 million) in the transmission and distribution segment, and civil business.

• Key points to note:
• India's equity benchmarks drop in early trade
• Foreign outflows and uncertainty surrounding US-India trade deal weigh heavy
• Rupee hits record low of 90.56 per dollar
• Foreign investors sell shares worth 11.1 billion rupees ($122.6 million) on Friday