Sensex Falls 1,000 pts At Open, Nifty Below 17,800 After Wall Street Selloff
Sensex Today: The domestic markets had a tumultuous start on Wednesday following a hotter-than-expected inflation report in the US that has diminished all hopes of any ease in the Fed’s monetary tightening. Frontline indices Nifty50 declined over 150 points to trade below 17,900 levels, whereas the S&P BSE Sensex slumped over 700 points to trade at 59,867 levels.
Broader markets, too, traded feebly as Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 slipped over 1 per cent.
All sectors nosedived in negative territory with Nifty IT, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Metal indices bearing the brunt of the brutal selloff.
Tech Mahindra, TCS, Wipro, Infosys contributed heavily to the losses in benchmark indices. Asian Paints, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, however, attempted to trim losses.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said: “The 4.32 per cent and 5.12 per cent cut in S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Tuesday reminds us that there is more uncertainty about inflation and growth and more volatility ahead for markets. The worse-than-expected CPI inflation data in the US, despite cooling gas prices, was a surprise. Now the market fears that inflation is getting entrenched and an ultra-hawkish Fed might trigger a hard landing for the US economy.”
“The ‘buy on dips’ strategy has been working very well in India for more than a month now. Investors should watch out for whether this strategy continues to work. Aggressive buy on dips is better avoided,” Vijayakumar said.
“Domestic-economy facing stocks like high-quality financials, capital goods, autos, segments of FMCG and telecom are relatively safe now. Global economy-facing stocks like IT and metals are likely to be under pressure,” he added.
Global Cues
Asian shares tumbled, the dollar held firm and the US yield curve was deeply inverted on Wednesday, as a white-hot US inflation report dashed hopes for a peak in inflation and fuelled bets that interest rates may have to be raised higher and for longer.
Tokyo stocks sank at the open on Wednesday as investors shunned risk after fresh data that showed US inflation remains stubbornly high triggered Wall Street selloffs. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.80 percent, or 799.83 points, to 28,814.80 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 2.02 percent, or 40.22 points, at 1,946.35.
A broad sell-off sent U.S. stocks reeling on Tuesday after a hotter-than-expected inflation report dashed hopes that the Federal Reserve could relent and scale back its policy tightening in the coming months.
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