Markets decline in early trade amid volatility

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The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Friday due to market volatility and mixed global trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex began down 62.90 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 81,548.51. Similarly, the wider Nifty fell 64.1 points to 24,934.35, reported PTI.

Among the 30 Sensex stocks, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were laggards. Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, JSW Steel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Motors, Titan, Tech Mahindra, and State Bank of India all increased their stock prices, the report stated.

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"Market is likely to remain volatile in the near-term alternating between FII selling and DII buying. Attractive valuations in other markets, particularly in Chinese stocks, will facilitate further selling by FIIs in India since Indian valuations are elevated," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

He added that attractive valuations in other markets, especially Chinese stocks, may encourage further FII selling in India due to India's elevated valuations. Concerns over potential earnings downgrades in the second half of FY25 make it harder to sustain these valuations.

Reportedly, in Asia, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul markets were all up, while Shanghai was down. The US markets closed down on Thursday. Brent Crude, the global oil standard, fell 0.33 per cent to USD 79.14 per barrel.

According to market data, FIIs sold shares worth Rs 4,926.61 crore on Thursday, while DIIs purchased shares worth Rs 3,878.33 crore. Vijayakumar also stated that stock-specific action will occur in response to the approaching second-quarter reports, with the banking and information technology sectors expected to do well.

On Thursday, the Sensex jumped 144.31 points to 81,611.41, while the Nifty gained 16.50 points to 24,998.45, the report added.

Rupee rises 2 paise to 83.96 against US dollar in early trade

In early trade on Friday, the rupee jumped 2 paise to 83.96 against the US dollar, as the greenback weakened. However, an increase in crude oil prices and consistent FII outflows limited further advances in the native currency, according to FX traders. A sluggish start to the day in domestic equity markets also kept the local currency from advancing higher, they claimed.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee began at 83.97 versus the US dollar, one paisa higher than the previous day's close, before rising to 83.96. On Thursday, the local unit settled at 83.98. The rupee is predicted to remain in the range of 83.75 to 84.10, with the sideways trend continuing, according to forex experts.

With PTI inputs