Sensex, Nifty drop on foreign fund outflows, weak US markets

Mumbai, Mar 26 (PTI) Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Tuesday due to losses in index major Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank amid sustained foreign fund outflows and mixed global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 361.64 points or 0.50 per cent to settle at 72,470.30. During the day, it fell by 468.91 points or 0.64 per cent to 72,363.03.

The NSE Nifty declined 92.05 points or 0.42 per cent to 22,004.70.

From the Sensex basket, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Infosys and Reliance Industries were the major laggards.

Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo settled lower, while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the positive territory.

European markets were trading mostly in the green. Wall Street ended lower on Monday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,309.76 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Equity markets were closed on Monday for Holi.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.17 per cent to USD 86.60 a barrel.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 190.75 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 72,831.94. The NSE Nifty had advanced 84.80 points or 0.39 per cent to 22,096.75.