Sensex, Nifty Fall Amid Fading Hopes Of Stimulus Package, Rupee Drops Below 72 Mark

Market benchmark BSE Sensex declined by 345 points in early session on Friday due to heavy losses in financial, FMCG and auto stocks amid fading hopes of a stimulus package for slowdown-hit sectors.

The 30-share index dropped 345.55 points or 0.95 per cent to 36,127.38 in early session with 19 of its constituents trading in the red.

The broader NSE Nifty dropped 94.30 points or 0.88 per cent to 10,647.05 points, dragged down by losses in ICICI Bank, Cipla and auto major Maruti.

FMCG, auto, banking and financial sector stocks came under heavy selling pressure after government officials virtually ruled out a stimulus package to arrest a slowdown and boost growth.

Among Sensex stocks, ICICI fell the most by 2.62 per cent. HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and IndusInd Bank also dropped up to 1.7 per cent.

Maruti lost 2.27 per cent, ITC 1.83 per cent, Bajaj Finance 2.17 per cent and Reliance Industries by 1.40 per cent.

Rupee drops below 72-mark

The rupee breached the 72 mark in early trade which also hit the market sentiment.

The rupee on Friday declined below the 72 mark against the US currency in opening session due to continued foreign fund outflows and losses in the equity markets. 

A strong dollar in the overseas markets and continued foreign fund outflows weighed on the domestic currency, according to forex traders. 

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against global peers, was up 0.15 per cent ahead of a key address by the US Federal Reserve Chairman, who is under pressure from the Trump administration to cut rates. 

Foreign investors continued their selling spree in the Indian equities amid fading hopes of any stimulus measures by the government to arrest slowdown. 

FPIs withdrew around Rs 900 crore from capital markets on a net basis on Thursday. 

The rupee had closed at 71.81 to the US dollar on Thursday.