India share benchmarks end flat on US trade deal delay, outflows

India’s equity benchmarks ended little changed on Monday, in line with the muted moves over the last two weeks, as foreign outflows and ongoing uncertainty surrounding a potential trade deal with the U.S. dampened sentiment.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.08% to 26,027.30 points and the BSE Sensex lost 0.06% to 85,213.36. The rupee hit another record low at 90.785 per dollar.

Foreign outflows from Indian equities have totalled $2 billion so far in December, marking the worst sell-off in three months.

Nine of the 16 major sectors rose. Small-caps gained 0.2%, while mid-caps lost 0.1%.

India’s blue-chip indexes have eased about 0.5% over last two weeks as investors booked profits near record-high levels amid uncertainty over the India-U.S. trade deal.

“U.S. tariffs are finally starting to compound into stress across asset classes… The best way to ride this out is to stick with large caps, with private lenders, pharma, and IT,” Emkay Global Financial Services said.

The U.S. imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods earlier this year, partly in response to India’s Russian oil purchases.

India’s trade secretary said on Monday that the two countries were close to a “framework deal”, without giving any timeline. Last week, India’s chief economic advisor said that a trade deal is likely only by March.

India’s merchandise trade deficit declined to a five-month low in November, driven by a fall in gold, oil and coal imports, while exports to the U.S. picked up, data showed on Monday.

 
AUTOS FALL, INDIGO RISES

Automobile stocks fell 0.9% and were the biggest losers among major sectors. JM Financial said auto and auto components, and aluminium goods could be among the worst affected from tariff hike by Mexico.

India’s largest airline IndiGo rose 2.2%, marking the third session of gains, as its operations stabilised after poor pilot roster planning led to thousands of flight cancellations earlier this month.