Indian shares log worst weekly run in 14 months on foreign outflows, frail earnings

Indian shares logged their longest weekly losing run since August 2023 on Friday, intensifying a broad-based selloff as foreign investors continued to flee and lacklustre corporate earnings further bogged down sentiment.

The NSE Nifty 50 fell 2.7% this week and BSE Sensex dropped 2.2%, logging losses for the fourth straight week. The benchmark Nifty 50 also swung to the oversold territory, with the relative strength index (RSI) slipping below 30 for the first time in a year.

The Nifty 50 was in the overbought territory on Sept. 27 when it hit record highs.

Since then, the index has dropped 8%, weighed down by foreign outflows for the last 19 sessions, as investors direct funds to China on Beijing’s stimulus measures and relatively cheaper valuations.

Both the benchmarks are set for their worst month since March 2020, when India announced a nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All the sectoral indexes logged weekly losses.

The broader, more domestically focused small- and mid-caps fell 6.5% and 5.8% this week.

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“The primary driver of the sharp correction in Indian markets is foreign selling,” said Santosh Meena, head of research at Swastika Investmart.

“Another major factor is disappointing earnings reports from Indian companies, especially consumption-linked sectors and financials.” On the day, the Nifty lost 0.9% to 24,180.8, the while Sensex shed 0.83% to 79,402.29.

Both the indexes have declined for five straight sessions.

IndusInd Bank plunged 18.6% after the lender reported a surprise drop in its quarterly profit due to stress in microfinance loans, which led to higher provisions and lower asset quality.

NTPC lost 3.2% after posting a fall in quarterly profit on lower power generation.

Consumer major ITC rose 2.25% and was the top Nifty 50 gainer.

While the company missed quarterly profit expectations, analysts said its strong sales and volume growth were encouraging signs for future earnings.