India’s equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced a significant drop in their early trade on Monday (24 February). This was due to the exceedingly weak trends in the US market, continuous outflows of foreign funds, and worries about US tariffs.
In early trading, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted by 567.62 points, landing at 74,743.44. Concurrently, the NSE Nifty fell by 188.4 points, settling at 22,607.50.
Among the major underperformers from the Sensex group were HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Power Grid.
From the group, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the beneficiaries, The Hindu reported.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities valued at Rs 3,449.15 crore on Friday.
So far this month, international investors have withdrawn more than Rs 23,710 crore from Indian equity markets, leading to total outflows exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 due to escalating global trade disputes.
“The market is facing headwinds from relentless FII selling and global uncertainties relating to Trump tariffs. The sharp surge in Chinese stocks is another near-term headwind. In the US, long-term inflation expectations are rising and, therefore, the expected rate cut by the Fed is unlikely to materialise,” Chief Investment Strategist of Geojit Financial Service V K Vijayakumar said.
In the Asian trading sector, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were experiencing a downturn.
On Friday, the US markets concluded with a substantial decline. The worldwide oil standard, Brent crude, experienced a 2.13 per cent decrease, falling to $74.43 per barrel.
“As we advance, continued foreign fund outflows and concerns over US President Donald Trump’s tariff stance in his second term in office may keep investors on edge in a holiday-shortened week,” Chartered Market Technician, CFTe and Senior Technical Analyst at StoxBox Ameya Ranadive said.
On Friday, the BSE benchmark experienced a drop for the fourth consecutive day, plunging by 424.90 points or 0.56 per cent, to close at 75,311.06. Similarly, the Nifty also saw a decline of 117.25 points or 0.51 per cent, ending the day at 22,795.90.
