Sensex tanks 555 pts amid global selloff; Nifty tumbles 176 pts
MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex plunged 555 points on Wednesday following losses in index majors Reliance Industries, Infosys and ICICI Bank amid a selloff in global markets.
The 30-share BSE index ended 555.15 points or 0.93% lower at 59,189.73. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 176.30 points or 0.99% to 17,646.
IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3%, followed by Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra.
On the other hand, HDFC twins and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.
“Weak global markets which resulted in profit booking in metals and IT stocks led domestic indices to trade in red, trimming its early gains,” said Vinod Nair, head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Spike in crude prices is spooking the Indian market while inflation is affecting US bond yields, he noted.
Further, RBI has commenced its three-day MPC meeting in which the central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged. However, it is likely to announce measures to gradually pump out liquidity from the economy, Nair said.
S Hariharan, Head- Sales Trading, Emkay Global Financial Services, said the global backdrop is worrisome with surging energy prices, slowing demand conditions and a global supply chain crunch across basic materials.
“Should global central banks respond to rising inflation expectations by paring bond purchases and tightening monetary conditions, that could act as a trigger for sudden re-pricing of risk assets across the board,” he added.
All sectoral indices ended in the red, with BSE metal, healthcare, consumer durables, industrials and basic materials skidding up to 2.98%.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices lost as much as 1.22%.
World stocks reeled after soaring oil prices fuelled inflation concerns amid supply chain issues and labour shortages.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with significant losses. Shanghai was closed for holidays.
Equities in Europe were also trading with heavy losses in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude surged 1.14% to $82.19 per barrel.
Global shares slipped in cautious trading Wednesday, shrugging off a rally on Wall Street led by technology companies and banks that erased most of the losses from the previous day’s sell-off.