Selling pressure built as the session wore on, despite a firm opening.
For the sixth consecutive session, India's equity markets closed lower on February 24, 2023, as the shadow of the US Federal Reserve's rate trajectory fell across emerging markets worldwide. The Sensex and Nifty50 shed modest but meaningful ground, weighed down by foreign capital quietly withdrawing and sectors like metals, autos, and public banks bearing the heaviest burden. In the larger human story of capital and confidence, this streak speaks to how deeply interconnected the fate of distant monetary policy has become with the daily fortunes of investors half a world away.
- Six straight days of losses have eroded investor confidence, with early session optimism repeatedly surrendering to mounting selling pressure as the day wore on.
- Metal giants like Hindalco and Tata Steel, alongside auto and PSU bank stocks, led the retreat — with Adani Enterprises falling over 5% adding to the market's unease.
- Foreign institutional investors have offloaded ₹3,038 crore in Indian equities through February alone, a persistent outflow that is suffocating any rally before it can take hold.
- Domestic institutional investors provided a partial counterweight — buying ₹1,586 crore on Thursday against FII sales of ₹1,417 crore — but the balance of sentiment remains fragile.
- Across Asia, markets were broadly lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng sliding 1.68%, while the central question now is whether the Fed will signal a pause and whether foreign capital will find reason to return.
India's stock market closed lower for the sixth straight day on Friday, a streak that has steadily worn down investor confidence despite occasional firm openings. The Sensex finished at 59,463.93, shedding 141.87 points, while the Nifty50 dropped 45.45 points to 17,465.80 — losses that deepened as selling pressure built through the session.
Three sectors bore the heaviest burden. Metal stocks were hit hardest, with Hindalco Industries falling 4.72% and Tata Steel dropping nearly 2%. Auto stocks followed, with Mahindra & Mahindra losing 2.55%, and PSU banks added further weight to the decline. Adani Enterprises fell 5.11%. Gainers like ONGC and Adani Ports could not offset the broader retreat.
Two forces were driving the selloff. Globally, fears that the US Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates made emerging markets less attractive to foreign capital. Locally, foreign institutional investors have been exiting steadily — offloading ₹3,038 crore worth of shares through February 23, a sharp contrast to January's even heavier exodus of ₹41,464 crore. Domestic institutions stepped in to buy ₹1,586 crore on Thursday, offering some counterweight, but not enough to shift the mood. Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services described a market unable to hold early gains, with FII outflows acting as a persistent drag on any rally.
Across Asia, sentiment was mostly downbeat — South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan all fell — though Japan's Nikkei gained as investors watched a central bank nominee face parliamentary questioning on rate policy. Brent crude climbed modestly on Russian supply concerns, but for Indian equity investors, the real question remains whether the Federal Reserve will signal a pause, and whether foreign capital will find reason to return.
India's stock market closed lower for the sixth straight day on Friday, a streak that has worn down investor confidence despite occasional bright spots in the opening bell. The Sensex shed 141.87 points to finish at 59,463.93, a decline of just under a quarter percent, while the Nifty50 fell 45.45 points to land at 17,465.80. The losses came even as the market opened on firmer ground, suggesting that selling pressure built as the session wore on.
Three sectors bore the brunt of the retreat. Metal stocks took the heaviest hit, with Hindalco Industries dropping 4.72% and Tata Steel falling 1.96%. Auto stocks followed suit—Mahindra & Mahindra lost 2.55%—and PSU banks added their weight to the downward momentum. Adani Enterprises, one of the market's most watched names, fell 5.11%. The selling was broad enough that even gainers like ONGC, up 2.62%, and Adani Ports & SEZ, up 1.44%, could not lift the overall tone.
Two currents were driving the selloff. The first was global: investors worried that the US Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates to combat inflation, a prospect that typically makes emerging markets less attractive to foreign capital. The second was local. Foreign institutional investors have been exiting Indian equities at a steady clip. Through February 23, they had sold off 3,038 crore rupees worth of shares this month alone—a sharp reversal from January, when they had dumped 41,464 crore rupees. On Thursday alone, FIIs offloaded 1,417.24 crore rupees in shares, though domestic institutional investors stepped in to buy 1,586 crore rupees worth, providing some counterweight.
The HDFC twins—HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation—also came under selling pressure, further dampening sentiment. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, captured the mood: the domestic market was showing a lack of confidence, he said, unable to hold onto early gains as FIIs continued to pull money out. The selling was acting as a persistent drag on any rally that tried to form.
Across Asia, the picture was mixed but mostly downbeat. South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.63%, China's Shanghai SE Composite Index dropped 0.62%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.68%. Taiwan's TSEC 50 Index was down 0.71%. Japan bucked the trend, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 1.29%, partly because investors were watching Kazuo Ueda, the government's nominee to lead the central bank, as he faced questioning in parliament about whether he would take a hawkish or dovish stance on rates. In Europe, equities were trading higher during afternoon sessions. The US had ended Thursday on a positive note, with the Nasdaq up 0.72%, the S&P 500 up 0.53%, and the Dow Jones gaining 0.33%.
One bright spot in the commodity world: Brent crude oil climbed 0.92% to $82.97 per barrel, buoyed by concerns that Russian exports might fall further. But for Indian equity investors, that was cold comfort. The real question now is whether the Federal Reserve will signal a pause in rate hikes, and whether foreign investors will find reason to return.
Citas Notables
The domestic market is broadly demonstrating a lack of confidence, registering its sixth consecutive day of losses despite global markets turning green. Continued selling in the domestic market by FIIs is acting as an overhang in sustaining the early gains.— Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the market open strong but then fade?
The opening strength often reflects overnight sentiment from global markets and early domestic buying. But as the session progressed, the weight of foreign selling and sector-specific weakness—especially in metals—overwhelmed that initial optimism.
Is six days of losses unusual?
It's a meaningful streak. It signals that the market has lost its footing. When you can't hold gains even on a day that starts green, it tells you something about the underlying confidence.
Why are foreign investors leaving now?
They're worried about US interest rates. When the Fed raises rates, it makes US assets more attractive and emerging markets less so. India is caught in that current.
But domestic investors bought more than FIIs sold on Thursday. Doesn't that matter?
It does, and it's the only thing preventing a steeper fall. But domestic buying can only absorb so much selling pressure. If FIIs keep exiting, domestic support will eventually tire.
What would stop this streak?
A signal from the Fed that rate hikes are slowing, or better-than-expected earnings from Indian companies. Right now, neither is happening.
Is there anything in the data that's actually positive?
Oil prices rising could help energy stocks eventually. And some sectors like pharma and IT are holding up. But they're not enough to move the needle when metals and autos are falling this hard.