Mumbai, Feb 18 – On Tuesday, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced a slight decline, reflecting ongoing challenges in investor sentiment due to persistent foreign fund outflows and a slowdown in corporate earnings.

The 30-share BSE benchmark, Sensex, closed down by 29.47 points, or 0.04 percent, finishing at 75,967.39. During the trading session, it witnessed a drop of 465.85 points, or 0.61 percent, reaching a low of 75,531.01.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell by 14.20 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 22,945.30.

Among the notable laggards in the Sensex pack were IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, and Asian Paints. Conversely, NTPC, Zomato, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and HCL Tech emerged as gainers.

Data from the exchanges indicated that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,937.83 crore on Monday.

Ameya Ranadive, a Chartered Market Technician and Senior Technical Analyst at StoxBox, commented, “The slight decline in the Indian blue-chip equity indices, Sensex and Nifty-50, is primarily attributed to a slowdown in earnings and concerns regarding ongoing foreign selling, which have negatively impacted market sentiment.”

In the broader Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong closed positively, while Shanghai ended on a lower note. European markets were predominantly lower as well. Notably, US markets were closed on Monday in observance of ‘President’s Day.’

On the commodities front, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, saw an increase of 0.73 percent, reaching USD 75.77 per barrel.

In a previous trading session on Monday, the Sensex had managed to gain 57.65 points, or 0.08 percent, closing at 75,996.86, effectively breaking an eight-day losing streak. The Nifty also rebounded, rising by 30.25 points, or 0.13 percent, to settle at 22,959.50.