The S&P BSE Sensex erased early morning gains and closed 303.35 points or 0.56 per cent at 53,749.26 lower, and the Nifty was down 99.40 points or 0.62 per cent at 16,025.80.
The benchmarks were dragged by selling pressure in IT, Pharma, PSU Banks, Metals, and Consumption-related stocks. For instance, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Divis Labs, UPL, Tech M, Wipro, TCS, Apollo Hospitals, JSWS Steel, Infosys, Tata Motors, and M&M fell between 2 per cent and 8 per cent.
On the upside, NTPC, HDFC Life, SBI Life, Kotak Bank, Airtel, HDFC, Britannia Industries, and ONGC lent some support as their shares rose in the range of 1 to 4 per cent.
The broader markets, meanwhile, bled more with the BSE SmallCap index sliding nearly 3 per cent, and the BSE MidCap index falling close to 2 per cent.
Sectorally, the Nifty IT index tumbled 3 per cent with individual stocks cracking up to 7 per cent after global brokerage Nomura downgraded the sector due to expected slowdown ahead. Besides, the Nifty Realty index fell 2.7 per cent, the Nifty Metal 1.7 per cent; and the Nifty Auto 0.9 per cent.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Domestic indices wavered tracking mixed sentiments from the global markets as investors assessed the possibility of a recession in the US followed by the Fed policy tightening. Global markets are awaiting the release of the Fed minutes, which will be evaluated for details on the path of the upcoming rate hikes. In this whipsaw market, investors can resort to defensives & value stocks & sector.”
Global Cues
Stocks on Wall Street gave up more ground Tuesday amid mounting worries that persistently high inflation will dim corporate profits. The S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.3 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.2 per cent gain, thank’s primarily to big gains for McDonald’s and UnitedHealth. Big technology and communications companies helped weigh down the broader market, though some of the selling eased by late afternoon.
Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday after US stocks mostly retreated on concerns about growth following a profit warning from the owner of Snapchat that shocked the tech sector. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.13 percent, or 36.02 points at 26,712.12 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.08 percent, or 1.56 points, at 1,876.70.
Hong Kong shares opened barely moved Wednesday morning following a tepid lead from Wall Street as traders fret over the impact of US interest rate tightening. The Hang Seng Index inched up 3.46 points to 20,115.56. The Shanghai Composite Index was barely moved, dipping 0.76 points to 3,070.17, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange added 0.18, or 3.43 points, to 1,925.90.
Brent Crude and WTI added around a per cent each in morning deals, trading at $114.6 and $111 a barrel, respectively.
Read all the Latest Business News here
Comments
0 comment