The 30-share Sensex fell 158.57 points or 0.22 per cent to 72,984.23 points while the broader Nifty slipped 33.20 points or 0.15 per cent to 22,179.50 points in early trade on February 26, 2024,.

Equity benchmark indices opened on a negative note on Monday, with Sensex falling over 158 points in early trade amid mixed global trends.

The 30-share Sensex fell 158.57 points or 0.22 per cent to 72,984.23 points while the broader Nifty slipped 33.20 points or 0.15 per cent to 22,179.50 points.

As many as 20 Sensex constituents were in the red, with Asian Paints falling over 3.60 per cent while Wipro, Titan and Tech Mahindra dropped more than 1 per cent.

In the Nifty pack, 31 stocks were trading lower.

Sensex and Nifty closed marginally lower on Friday.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said Asian shares were mixed near seven-month highs on Monday as investors awaited inflation data from the US, Japan, and Europe that will help refine expectations for future rate moves.

China’s ‘home’ crisis

“China’s new home prices fell for the seventh month in January, leaving sentiment fragile as policymakers’ efforts to restore confidence in the debt-ridden sector struggled for traction,” he said.

On Friday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they purchased securities worth ₹1,276.09 crore.

V.K.Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “Sustained buying by DIIs (₹21,700 crore in February so far) supported by HNIs and retail investors has completely eclipsed the FII selling. FIIs have lost in this tug of war with DIIs since the market has been scaling new highs despite FII selling.”

Billionaire Ashwin Dani, non-executive director and member of the promoter group at Asian Paints Limited, has died at the age of 79.

Here are 5 points on the businessman:

1. Mr Dani was born on September 26, 1944, in Mumbai. He completed his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Mumbai University in 1966 and went to the US to pursue his master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Akron.

2. He joined Asian Paints in 1968, which was founded by his father and three others in 1942. He joined the company’s Board in 1970 and held the position of Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the company from 1998 to 2009.

3. Since 2009, he continued on the Board as the Non-Executive Director and vice chairman of the Board and the company. For the period between 2018 to 2021, he held the position of Chairman of the Board and the company. He stepped down in 2021.

4. Under his leadership, Asian Paints expanded its operations globally and became one of the leading paint companies in the world. He was instrumental in pioneering the idea of computerised colour matching in the Indian paint industry.

5. He is survived by his wife Ina Dani and his three children. His son Malav Dani is on the board of Asian Paints. Besides business, he was a devoted yoga practitioner and had a keen interest in the art collection. Ashwin Dani’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $7.1 billion, according to Forbes.

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