Sensex, Nifty Tumble in Early Trade as Bajaj Finance Sinks; FIIs Continue Selling Spree

Mumbai, July 25 – Indian equity benchmarks extended their early losses on Friday, July 25 as sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing volatility in quarterly earnings and global macro trends. The Sensex and Nifty50 opened sharply lower-each down around 0.45–0.51%-with the Nifty slipping below the 25,000 mark to about 24,930-24,944, while the Sensex hovered around 81,800–81,950.

Market structure highlighted weakness across sectors, with 13 out of 16 major indices in the red. Auto, metal, consumer, and financials (especially the Bajaj twins) led the decline, while small & mid-cap benchmarks fell 0.5–0.8%.

Markets at 9:51 AM

• BSE Sensex was down 369.66 points or 0.45% at 81,814.51
• NSE Nifty50 slipped 127.25 points or 0.51% to 24,934.85

Bajaj Finance Slumps After Earnings

A key drag on the indices was a sharp fall in Bajaj Finance shares, which tumbled ~5–6% despite a strong Q1 performance (net profit up 22% YoY to ₹4,765 crore), as rising non-performing assets (gross NPA at 1.03%, up sequentially) dented investor confidence. Its parent company Bajaj Finserv also declined over 4%. Other major laggards included Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, and Maruti Suzuki.

Meanwhile, Eternal, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, and State Bank of India traded in the green, offering some support to the indices.

FII Outflows Continue to Pressure Sentiment

FIIs offloaded equities worth ₹2,133.69 crore on Thursday, extending their four-day selling streak to a total of ₹11,572 crore. In contrast, DIIs remained buyers, picking up shares worth ₹2,617.14 crore.

Muted Global Cues Weigh on Market Mood

Asian markets presented a mixed picture with Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading lower. South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend, trading in positive territory.

On Wall Street, major US indices closed mixed on Thursday, offering little directional guidance.

India-UK FTA Eyed as Long-Term Positive

Investor attention also turned to the newly signed India-UK Free Trade Agreement, which will allow 99% of Indian exports to enter the UK duty-free starting next year. The deal is expected to double bilateral trade to USD 112 billion by 2030, benefiting sectors such as textiles, leather, food processing, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and gems and jewellery.

Crude Prices Edge Higher

Brent crude rose 0.39% to USD 69.45 per barrel, maintaining upward pressure on import costs.

Previous Close Recap

On Thursday, the Sensex closed down 542.47 points at 82,184.17, and the Nifty fell 157.80 points to 25,062.10, marking the worst single-day fall this week.

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