Sensex Today: Benchmark indices fell in early trade on Thursday, facing heavy volatility, amid emergence of profit-taking and negative trend in the US markets. S&P BSE Sensex tumbled to a low of 63,200.6 before closing at 63,239, down 284 points or 0.45 per cent.
The NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, missed hitting a fresh record high by just 1 point as it halted its intra-day rally at 18,886.6. The index settled at 18,771, down 86 points or 0.45 per cent. It hit an intra-day low of 18,760.
Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Tata Consumer Products, Asian Paints, Power Grid, NTPC, Nestle India, SBI Life, Infosys, Cipla, UPL, Grasim, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, and Britannia Industries were the drags on the frontline index, falling between 1 per cent and 2.4 per cent.
Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank index came under heavy selling pressure as it fell 1.67 per cent. On the upside, the Nifty Metal index managed to rise 0.05 per cent.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices trailed frontline indices as they fell 1 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The Sensex hitting a new high will continue to sustain optimism in the market mood. Market has been bouncing back from the dips consistently, and this market construct has the potential to sustain the enthusiasm of the bulls. India stands out among emerging markets with the best growth-inflation balance. However, the big wall of worry is the rich valuation, which might invite institutional selling beyond a point.”
“A negative trigger, from the global perspective, is the Fed chief Powell’s statement in the Congressional testimony yesterday that “the process of getting inflation back to 2 per cent has a long way to go.” This indicates further rate hikes, perhaps two more, in this rate hiking cycle. However, the bond markets didn’t react to this hawkishness,” he added.
Global Cues
Tokyo’s Nikkei index hovered in a narrow range Thursday following falls on Wall Street, as investors continued to bet on more gains ahead.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index zigzagged between positive and negative regions in early trade and was down 0.10 per cent, or 32.99 points, to 33,542.15 in mid-morning.
US stocks closed lower on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony reinforced the central bank’s objective to rein in inflation as he hinted at the likelihood of further interest rate hikes.
Comments
0 comment