Stocks extend losses for seventh straight session

MUMBAI: Stocks extended losses for the seventh straight session on Wednesday, in the biggest losing streak for the benchmark Sensex since September, as subdued world equities continued to weigh on the index.

Investors also remained on the sidelines after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) indicated that monetary conditions are likely to remain tight because of rising risks to inflation, even as it kept interest rates unchanged.

BSE’S 30-share Sensex closed 0.33% or 113.23 points lower at 34,082.71 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) 50-share Nifty shed 0.21% or 21.55 points to close at 10,476.70 points. While the market started on a positive note, it fluctuated between positive and negative territories during the day.

Over the last seven sessions, around ₹8.93 lakh crore of investors’ wealth has been eroded from the Indian stock market, and the Sensex is down 6.06% from its peak of 36,283.25 points seen on January 29. Since then, the MSCI EM index and MSCI world index have declined 7.24% and 6.10%, respectively.

“In the US market, there were a lot of leveraged positions with shorting liquidity, and going long on stocks, and with the unwinding, all trade is getting reversed. This may mean more pain. Even though a large part of pain is done, it may not be over as yet,” said Hemang Jani, senior vicepresident and head of advisory desk at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

“Emerging markets, including ours, may feel the heat for now. However, it is not the end of the structural bull market for India. We haven’t seen a correction since the start of 2017, and this one hit us hard yesterday,” said Jani.

“That said, it is too early to predict levels for now,” he added.