Sensex, Nifty Dip as Reliance and ICICI Bank Drag Indian Stocks
Sensex, Nifty Dip as Reliance and ICICI Bank Drag Indian Stocks
Indian shares slide in early trade as blue-chips Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank pull the benchmarks lower amid FII outflows and tariff concerns.
Indian equities opened lower on Monday, with the Sensex sliding 320.69 points to 83,249.66 and the Nifty dropping 124.60 points to 25,573.40 in early trade. The soft start came as traders weighed continued foreign fund outflows and persistent tariff uncertainties that have kept risk appetite under pressure.
ICICI Bank led the decline among major lenders, tumbling around 3% after reporting a December-quarter consolidated profit of ₹12,537.98 crore, which was hit by an RBI-mandated ₹1,283 crore provision for agricultural loans wrongly classified as priority sector advances. On a standalone basis, the bank’s quarterly profit fell by more than 4% to ₹12,883 crore.
Reliance Industries also came under pressure, slipping over 2% after posting a largely flat net profit of ₹18,645 crore for the September-December quarter. Management cited a decline in gas production and softness in the retail segment as offsetting gains from other divisions.
Other notable laggards included Sun Pharma, Infosys, Adani Ports and Bharti Airtel, while gainers included Tech Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank and Hindustan Unilever. Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹4,346.13 crore on Friday, even as domestic institutions bought about ₹3,935.31 crore, according to exchange data. The mood in the market remained cautious, with analysts noting that the upside is likely to be capped by ongoing FII outflows, tariff headlines and geopolitical tensions.
Across Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite climbed, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell. In the United States, last week’s session closed with marginal declines as investors digested tariff-related news from the new year. Market observers suggested that until policy clarity improves and tariff fears ease, volatility may stay elevated.
At a market level, traders said today’s session could set the tone for the week, with key support and resistance levels closely watched as participants seek signs of stabilization amid global headwinds.
