Wed May 28 04:48:15 UTC 2025: **Summary:**

The Indian stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty, experienced a decline in early trading on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The drop was primarily attributed to a fall in ITC shares, triggered by reports of British American Tobacco (BAT) planning to sell a portion of its stake in the company. While other Asian markets showed mixed performance, U.S. markets closed strongly in positive territory the previous day. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities on Tuesday.

**News Article:**

**Indian Markets Stumble as ITC Stake Sale Weighs on Investor Sentiment**

**Mumbai, May 28, 2025:** Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, opened lower on Wednesday, dragged down by a significant dip in ITC shares. At 10:21 am IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 200.32 points, trading at 81,351.31, while the NSE Nifty dipped 61.2 points to 24,765.

The decline in ITC shares, exceeding 3%, stemmed from reports indicating that British American Tobacco (BAT), ITC’s largest shareholder, intends to sell a 2.3% stake in the conglomerate through a block deal.

“BAT’s decision to sell a 2.3% stake in ITC will keep the stock subdued,” commented V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Other notable laggards on the Sensex included IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Maruti. Conversely, Infosys, Eternal, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.

The Asian market landscape presented a mixed picture. South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and Shanghai’s SSE Composite were trading in positive territory, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng experienced a decline.

The U.S. markets, however, provided a positive backdrop, closing sharply higher on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.47%, the S&P 500 surged 2.05%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.78%.

On Tuesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities, purchasing shares worth ₹348.45 crore, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.37% to $64.33 a barrel.

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