The Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Monday amid volatility in the markets. The BSE Sensex fell 84 points to 71,942 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty 50 index declined 26 points to 21,685.
The markets were dragged down by losses in FMCG and IT stocks. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fell over 1%, while ITC, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj twins also traded lower. However, telecom giant Bharti Airtel, jewelry maker Titan, IT services provider HCL Technologies, automaker Tata Motors, power utility PowerGrid, and pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma bucked the trend to trade higher.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also witnessed selling pressure in the broader market, falling 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Barring oil & gas and auto, all sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red, with the Nifty FMCG index shedding 1%.
Asian markets displayed a negative trend after China reported dismal trade data over the weekend. Hang Seng index plunged 2% in Hong Kong, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1%. Other Asian indices like Straits Times, and Kospi were largely flat, except Taiwan which climbed 0.5%.
On Friday, Indian indices had closed higher, with Sensex finishing over 150 points higher at 72,026 and Nifty settling above the 21,700 mark. Continued foreign fund inflows led the uptick, as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 3,290 crore on Friday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 7,900 crore.
The Indian markets may witness volatility this week ahead of the quarterly earnings season. Global cues, currency movement and crude oil prices will influence investor sentiment.
