Sensex, Nifty join sell-off amid rate hike fears

Mumbai:

The Sensex plummeted 773 points while the Nifty dived below the 17,400-level on Friday, tracking heavy selling in global equities after US consumer inflation soared to a 40-year high in January, raising the prospects of faster-than-expected rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. A sharp fall in the rupee and unabated foreign fund outflows added to the pressure, traders said.The 30-share BSE

Sensex tumbled 773.11 points, or 1.31%, to close at 58,152.92. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty plunged 231.10 points, or 1.31%, to 17,374.75.

Tech Mahindra was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.94%, followed by Infosys, HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, SBI and Kotak Bank.Only five counters managed to close with gains—IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC, M&M and ITC, rising up to 0.94%.”Aggressive FII selling resulting from negative global cues wreaked havoc in the domestic market today. Globally, markets traded in red amid mounting concerns of surging US inflation which fuelled fears of a hawkish rate hike by the central bank.”US inflation surged 7.5% on an annual basis...in January. On the domestic front, all sectors were deep in red with IT, realty and PSU banks being the most affected,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.On a weekly basis, the Sensex shed 491.90 points or 0.83%, while the Nifty declined 141.55 points or 0.80%.”After a brief spell of exuberance borne of the Budget proposals, the market witnessed selling pressure emanating mainly from overseas developments. The US inflation at 7.50%... and the probability of the Fed getting soon into a tightening mode dampened the sentiment in overseas markets...and these movements are getting reflected in the domestic market as well.”These concerns are going to linger on for some more time, and we may see the effects in the coming weeks too,” said Joseph Thomas, Head of Research, Emkay Wealth Management.All BSE sectoral indices closed lower in Friday’s session, led by IT, teck, consumer durables, realty and basic materials which lost up to 2.55%. In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap gauges slumped as much as 1.90%. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market, offloading shares worth ₹17,325.8 million on Thursday, stock exchange data showed.