Markets pare early gains; trade lower amid continuous foreign fund outflows

The BSE Sensex climbed 216.07 points to 65,436.10 in early trade on August 23.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a bright note on August 23 but later pared their gains to quote lower amid mixed global market trends and continuous foreign fund outflows.

The BSE Sensex climbed 216.07 points to 65,436.10 in early trade. The NSE Nifty gained 53.75 points to 19,450.20.

Later both the benchmark indices pared their early gains and were trading in the negative territory. The BSE benchmark quoted 76.55 points lower at 65,143.48 and the Nifty traded at 19,376.35, down 20.10 points.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, JSW Steel, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and NTPC were the major gainers.

Jio Financial Services, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong were quoting in the green while Seoul and Shanghai traded lower.

The U.S. markets ended on a mixed note on Tuesday.

“There are no immediate triggers which can take the market sharply up or down. Investors may wait and watch for new data expected this weekend from the U.S. Since the dollar index and the U.S. bond yields remain high, FIIs will not be strong buyers in the market,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.15% to $84.16 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹495.17 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark had eked out a marginal gain of 3.94 points or 0.01% to settle at 65,220.03 on Tuesday. The Nifty inched up 2.85 points or 0.01% to settle at 19,396.45.