Indian equity benchmarks on Friday swung back into the red after a surprise rise in the previous session. The domestic indices plunged sharply today, dragged by selling pressure in information technology, financial and energy stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 1,017 points or 1.84 per cent to close at 54,303 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 276 points or 1.68 per cent down to settle at 16,202.
Investors lost ₹ 3.11 lakh crore in Friday’s session, with the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies falling to ₹ 2,51,84,358.86 crore.
Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a weak note as Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.83 per cent lower and small-cap slumped 1.10 per cent.
All the 15 sector gauges — compiled by the National Stock Exchange — settled in the red. Sub-indexes IT, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Oil & Gas underperformed the platform by falling as much as 2.17 per cent, 2.24 per cent and 2.08 per cent, respectively.
On the stock-specific front, Bajaj Finance was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 4.08 per cent to ₹ 5,658. Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, Hindalco and Reliance Industries were also among the laggards.
The overall market breadth stood negative as 1,309 shares advanced while 1,999 declined on BSE.
On the 30-share BSE index, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Reliance, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma were among the top losers.
Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, plunged to a new intraday low of ₹ 708.70. The stock finally settled 1.70 per cent lower at ₹ 709.70.
In contrast, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Dr Reddy’s, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, Nestle India and NTPC finished in the green.
European markets fell more than one percent each after digesting European Central Bank’s rate hike commentary and awaiting US inflation data due later today. European Central Bank hinted that it will hike interest rates by 25 bps in July policy meeting, followed by next in September.
The Indian Rupees hits a fresh low against the USD in the early morning trade today. Experts had expected the Indian currency to open near a record low of 77.80 and expected it to trade in a range of 77.60 to 78.00 with a weakening bias. The Rupee was currently trading at 77.81. Experts suggest that higher than expected US inflation could again send US yields higher, equities lower and the US dollar higher against the DM and EM currencies. Against this backdrop, RBI’s approach could suppress the aggressive volatility and rates. Overall, they expect the pair to face resistance near 77.80-77.85 levels. If it convincingly trades above this level then further move towards 78-78.10 can be expected. On flipside, 77.40-50 zone will act as a crucial short-term support.
