Stock markets decline in early trade halting 6-day rally; IT, bank stocks drag

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Friday, after about a week-long rally, dragged by IT and bank stocks.

The BSE Sensex declined 262.05 points to 81,738.66 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 81.55 points to 25,002.20.

From the Sensex firms, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services and NTPC were among the major laggards.

However, Bharat Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.

“The headwinds for the market from Trump tariffs will weigh on markets, constraining the rally of the last 6 days,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Investors also turned their attention towards US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s forthcoming statements at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

In the six-day rally to Thursday, the BSE benchmark has climbed 1,765 points or 2.14 per cent, and the Nifty rallied 596 points or 2.4 per cent.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded in positive territory, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted lower.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,246.51 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.18 per cent to USD 67.56 a barrel.

On Thursday, the Sensex climbed 142.87 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 82,000.71. The Nifty rose by 33.20 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,083.75.