After eight consecutive trading days of losses, Indian stock markets ended Monday a little higher after buyers flocked to HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries shares.
The trading day ended with value buying, pushing the BSE Sensex more than 57 points up to close at 75,294.76 and the Nifty gaining 30 points to reach 22,959.50 as trading ended for the day.
The past eight days saw Sensex shedding 2,644.6 points (3.36 per cent) and the Nifty losing 810 points (or 3.41 per cent) as FII outflows impacted market sentiment.
Global tensions triggered by US-imposed tariffs on imports paired with unabated foreign investment outflow. FPIs pulled out a staggering ₹21,272 crore in the first two weeks of February 2025, and the net outflow in January was ₹78,027 crore. This meant a total of ₹99,299 crore—just shy of ₹1 lakh crore—left the Indian markets since 2025 began.
The rupee depreciated 16 paise to close at 86.87 vs the dollar on a provisional basis by the end of trading hours. Earlier on Monday, Rajesh Agrawal, the commerce department additional secretary, updated the media about recent developments regarding the proposed trade agreement with the US.
The recent visit by PM Narendra Modi to the US resulted in the announcement of two-way commerce of $500 billion by 2030 and negotiations of the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement before the end of 2025.
"The two sides will need to sit together and try to finalise the broad contours," added Agrawal. The two nations are expected to finalise more details regarding the arrangement in the coming eight to nine months, according to the additional secretary.
