The key benchmark indices continued to reel under selling pressure tracking weakness in global markets. At close, the Sensex was down 866.65 points or 1.56 per cent at 54,835.58, and the Nifty was down 271.40 points or 1.63 per cent at 16,411.30. About 837 shares have advanced, 2444 shares declined, and 105 shares are unchanged.
Among the Sensex 30 shares, financials and IT stocks bore the brunt of the selling. Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finserv were down around 4 per cent each. Wipro, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Titan, and HDFC were the other major losers. ITC, however, was up more than a per cent.
The broader markets were seen trading with deeper cuts. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were down around 2.3 per cent each as against the 1.5 per cent loss on the benchmark. The overall market breadth too was extremely bearish, with more than five declining stocks for every advancing share on the BSE.
Sectorally, the BSE Metal index slumped 4 per cent. The IT and Realty indices tanked 2.5 per cent each. The Auto, Bankex, Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices were down 2-3 per cent each.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “A steep crash in the US stocks as the market evaluated the need for a higher rate hike to tame elevated inflation levels wounded global markets with heavy selling. The Bank of England while raising its interest rates, warned about a possible risk of recession, aggravating investor fears. This period of volatility is the time for smart money to look for opportunities with buy-in-dip as the strategy with a focus on sectors that are expected to be least impacted by inflation & yield rise.”
Global Cues
Hong Kong stocks tumbled at the start of trade Friday, following a rout on Wall Street fuelled by worries over rising interest rates and surging inflation. The Hang Seng Index dipped 2.44 per cent, or 506.34 points, to 20,287.06. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.84 per cent, or 56.44 points, to 3011.32, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange dropped 2.42 per cent, or 45.72 points, to 1,845.95.
Tokyo’s key Nikkei index opened lower on Friday after US stocks plunged on renewed anxiety over rising interest rates. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.13 per cent, or 34.24 points, to 26,784.29 at the open, while the broader Topix index added 0.21 per cent, or 4.05 points, to 1,902.40. The dollar fetched 130.31 yen, against 130.20 yen in New York on Thursday.
After breathing a sigh of relief when the Federal Reserve held off on signaling more aggressive measures ahead to fight inflation, Wall Street tumbled on Thursday amid renewed anxiety over rising interest rates, while the pound slumped on fears of a UK recession. The S&P 500 fell 153.30 points to 4,146.87, while the Nasdaq slid 647.16 points to 12,317.69. The Dow briefly skidded 1,375 points before closing down 1,063.09 points, or 3.1 per cent, to 32,997.97.
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