At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.30 against the U.S. dollar and strengthened further to 94.24, up 31 paise from its previous close. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Equity benchmark indices declined for the second consecutive session on October 19 amid weak trends in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Disappointing quarterly earnings numbers and revenue forecast from IT services company Wipro also weighed on investor sentiments.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 247.78 points or 0.38% to settle at 65,629.24 points. During the day, it plunged 533.52 points or 0.80% to 65,343.50 points.

The Nifty declined 46.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 19,624.70 points.

Among the Sensex firms, Wipro fell nearly 3% after the company reported an almost flat consolidated net profit at ₹2,667.3 crore for the September quarter, trailing street expectations. It has also projected up to 3.5% fall in revenue in the current quarter on weak global economic outlook and uncertain business environment.

NTPC, Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance Industries were among the other major laggards.

Nestle jumped nearly 4% after the FMCG major reported an increase of 37.28% in net profit at ₹908.08 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, helped by a consistent performance almost across all major brands.

UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank were among the gainers.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the negative territory.

European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.99% to $89.68 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,831.84 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark plunged 551.07 points or 0.83% to settle at 65,877.02 points while the Nifty declined 140.40 points or 0.71% to 19,671.10 points.

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Thursday
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Thursday, falling for the second day running, amid weak trends in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows.

Disappointing earnings from IT services company Wipro also dragged the benchmarks lower.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 490.44 points to 65,386.58. The Nifty fell 137.5 points to 19,533.60.

Among the Sensex firms, Wipro fell by nearly 4 per cent after the IT services company reported an almost flat consolidated net profit at ₹2,667.3 crore for the September quarter, trailing street expectations, and projected up to 3.5 per cent fall in revenue in the current quarter on weak global economic outlook and uncertain business environment.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the other major laggards.

IndusInd Bank and ITC were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory.

The U.S. markets ended lower on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.52 per cent to $91.02 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,831.84 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

“Investors face various pressing concerns, including divestment by foreign institutional investors, the Israel-Palestine conflict, lacklustre corporate performance, rising US treasury yields, and an upcoming speech by Jerome Powell (Fed Chair),” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The BSE benchmark had plunged 551.07 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 65,877.02 on Wednesday. The Nifty declined 140.40 points or 0.71 per cent to 19,671.10.

Representational file image
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

India’s goods exports shrank for the seventh successive month in August, but the pace of decline eased to 6.86% from double digit contractions in recent months, with shipments worth $34.5 billion in the month.

The merchandise Import bill for August dropped 5.23% year-on-year to $58.64 billion, but was 10.85% higher than July’s $52.9 billion import tally.

Officials said that nearly half of the decline in exports so far this year was driven by the decline in petroleum prices, noting that though export volumes of petroleum products were up 6%, prices were 27% lower than a year ago.

The trade deficit for August dropped 2.8% from last year to $24.16 billion, but was almost 17% over July’s $20.67 billion gap between goods imports and exports.