Equity market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on July 25, continuing to decline for the fifth day running, dragged by Axis Bank and overall bearish global market trends.
The announcement of a hike in securities transaction tax and short term capital gains tax in the Budget for 2024-25, heavy foreign fund outflows and profit-taking after a record rally also impacted markets’ sentiment negatively during the initial trade.
Also Read: Markets still sour after tax hike on equity investments, Nifty, Sensex fall marginally
The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 671 points to 79,477.83. The NSE Nifty tumbled 202.7 points to 24,210.80.
From the Sensex pack, Axis Bank declined nearly 6% after the company’s June quarter earnings failed to cheer investors.
JSW Steel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and Titan were the other laggards.
Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the gainers.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower. The U.S. markets ended significantly lower on July 24.
“Global cues have turned distinctly negative with a sharp 3.64% cut in Nasdaq, which is the worst cut in 2024. The tech stocks which have been driving the rally in the U.S. are facing the brunt of selling due to worse-than-expected results and news.
“In India, too, the sentiments have turned a bit negative on the Budget proposals to raise the capital gains tax,” said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹ 5,130.90 crore on July 25, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.76 % to USD 81.09 a barrel.
The BSE benchmark declined 280.16 points or 0.35 % to settle at 80,148.88 on July 24. The NSE Nifty dropped 65.55 points or 0.27 % to 24,413.50.