Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 17 (ANI): Indian stock markets are continuously moving into the hands of bears amid persistent selling by foreign investors, as corporate earnings remain challenging.

The Nifty 50 index declined by 119 points, or 0.52 per cent, to open at 22,809.90 points, while the BSE Sensex opened at 75,641.41 points with a dip of 297.80 points, or 0.39 per cent.

Experts stated that markets are declining due to continuous selling by foreign investors, with weak corporate earnings being the main reason for the sell-off.

Ajay Bagga Banking and Market Expert told ANI 'FPI selling remains an issue for Indian markets. This will not reverse till a durable recovery in corporate earnings momentum is seen or till markets fall much more to make valuations compelling. Looking at a FY2026 Nifty EPS of Rs 1160 and FY2027 Nifty EPS of Rs 1350 odd, present valuations still remain challenging unless corporate earnings start beating estimates. That may be a few months away. Hence the FPI selling continues to pose challenges to Indian markets for now'.

In the sectoral indices of Nifty 50, the Nifty Realty index declined by more than 2 per cent, while Nifty Auto was down by 1.72 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank also fell by 1.48 per cent.

The Indian stock market is underperforming this year, with the Nifty delivering negative 3.4 per cent returns compared to 4.19 per cent returns in the S&P 500 and 11.7 per cent returns in Europe. The underperformance of the broader market is significant, with a 9.6 per cent decline in Midcaps and a 22 per cent drop in Smallcaps.

'India's benchmark stock index, the Nifty 50, has fallen approximately 13% since reaching its all-time high on September 27th. This decline has persisted throughout the past few months, with the index recording losses each month since October. It is currently trading around a strong support level; a breakdown below 22,800 would further signal strong downward momentum' said said Sunil Gurjar, SEBI Registered Research Analyst, Founder- Alphamojo Financial Services.

In other Asian markets, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted Index and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index rallied with gains of more than 1 per cent, while other indices in the Asian markets also moved higher. The Hang Seng gained 0.38 per cent, the Nikkei 225 was up by 0.04 per cent, and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.72 per cent. (ANI)