Last updated: Oct 20, 2023 09:32 IST
Sensex today: Stock benchmark indexes opened with cuts on Friday as crude oil prices and US bond yields continued to rise. In line with other Asian peers, the BSE Sensex fell 270 points to 65,352, and the NSE Nifty50 fell 90 points to 19,535.
The weakness comes after Fed chief Jerome Powell said interest rates are not currently too high, pushing the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to 5 percent for the first time since July 20, 2007.
On the Sensex, Ultratech Cement and Tata Motors rose up to 1.2 per cent, while Adani Enterprises led the gains on Nifty.
Other frontline stocks were in the red, with the highest losses in HUL, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Power Grid and HCL Tech.
The BSE MidCap index fell 0.14 percent, but the SmallCap index rose 0.32 percent.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “US 10-year yields hovering around 5% remain a headwind for equity markets. The volatile situation in West Asia, while now largely ignored by the market, could pose additional near-term challenges. FPIs are likely to remain sellers and put pressure on banking stocks, which make up the bulk of their assets under management. This provides an opportunity for domestic investors to buy these stocks that are available at fair valuations. Latest data shows that India’s foodgrain production has reached a record high and this could keep food inflation in check. The implication is that the MPC will go on a long hiatus, which is good for banking stocks.”
