New Delhi:
Indian stock benchmarks fell sharply on Thursday as global markets slipped. Asian equities fell to their 14-month low, US short-term interest rates rose to a 23-month high and the dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve chairman announced plans to steadily tighten policy. Investors also became cautious amid growing concerns about political tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Here’s Your 10-Point Cheatsheet For This Big Story:
Back home, as of 9:26 am, the BSE Sensex 30 shares fell 1,011 points or 1.75 percent to 56,847; while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 180 points, or 1.62 percent, to break below the psychological barrier of 17,000, at 16,998.
Mid and small cap stocks were negative as the Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1.18 percent and small cap stocks traded 0.19 percent lower.
On the stock-specific front, Dr. Reddy’s the biggest loser as the stock cracked 2.85 percent to Rs 4,277.50. Titan, Grasim Industries, Eicher Motors and HDFC Bank were also among the laggards. In contrast, ONGC, Axis Bank and Maruti Suzuki India were among the winners.
Overall market size was weak as 1,030 shares rose while 1,697 fell on BSE.
On the 30-stock BSE platform, Titan, Dr. Reddy’s, Wipro, HCL Tech, HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), Infosys and Bajaj Finserv suffered the most losses, with a whopping 3.37 percent loss. Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Maruti and NTPC were among the winners.
Overnight, Wall Street’s S&P 500 index lost 0.1 percent following the Fed’s statement about its expected rate hike next month. Investors are bracing for no fewer than four rate hikes this year, starting in March.
In its latest policy update, the central bank said it is likely to raise US interest rates in March and reiterated plans to end its bond purchases before significantly reducing its asset positions.
The policy-sensitive US 2-year yield jumped amid expectations of a Fed tightening and soared to a high of 1.1780 percent in morning trading in Asia, a level most recently reached in February 2020. The 10-year benchmark interest rate also rose from Wednesday’s close, rising to 1.8548 percent from 1.846 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and Australian stocks fell 2 percent and Chinese blue chips were 0.2 percent lower. In Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 1.9 percent, reaching its lowest point since December 2020.
On Tuesday, the domestic benchmark Sensex was up 367 points, or 0.64 percent, to 57,858, while Nifty finished 129 points, or 0.75 percent, higher at 17,278. The indices, forex and precious metals markets were all closed on Wednesday.