Sensex sheds 800 points, Nifty ends below 20,000 on weak global cues
The benchmark indices fell over a per cent on Wednesday as rising US bond yields, a stronger greenback, surge in global crude oil prices and concerns over the upcoming Fed policy weighed on sentiment.
The Sensex slid 1.2 per cent or 796 points to 66,800.84, while the Nifty settled at 19,901, down 1.15 per cent or 231.90 points. Nifty ends below the 20,000-mark for the first time after the benchmark closed above the historical mark on September 13. at Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth ₹3,110 crore on Wednesday, provisional data showed. This is in addition to the shares worth ₹5,213 crore offloaded by these investors this month till Monday.
Major decliners
HDFC Bank fell the most among the Nifty 50 pack on Wednesday, slipping 4 per cent to ₹1,563 amid high volumes. Nomura cut its target price by 9 per cent to ₹1,800, citing RoA and loan growth pressures. The RBI has approved the re-appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Bank for three years till October 26, 2026.
JSW Steel (2.7 per cent), Reliance Industries (2.2 per cent), BPCL (2.2 per cent) and SBI Life Insurance (2.1 per cent) were the other major laggards on Wednesday. PSUs Power Grid Corporation (2.3 per cent), Coal India (1.1 per cent) and ONGC (0.8 per cent) were among the gainers.
“Weak global cues, surge in oil prices to nearly one-year high, and selling by FPIs are major concerns in the market. We expect the market to remain cautious in the near term amid major events, while profit booking in the broader market is likely to continue,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Mid-cap and small-cap stocks were relatively stable. BSE Midcap and BSE SmallCap indices fell 0.33 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively.
Brent oil futures were ruling at 93.44 levels on Wednesday, about a per cent lower from the previous day. The 10-year US bond yields were ruling at 4.32 per cent, below the 4.36 per cent level reached on August 22, which was the highest since 2007. The US dollar index, which was ruling near 105 levels, has gained 1.4 per cent in the last month.
Positive cues
According to Milind Muchhala, Executive Director – Julius Baer India, the overall market conditions appeared favourable, with stable macro-economic indicators, easing inflation, healthy corporate earnings in Q1FY24, and strong liquidity flows, including domestic investments through SIPs. However, rising commodity prices, uncertain monsoon impact on crop production, upcoming state elections, and soft rural consumer demand were factors that could lead to intermittent volatility.
Global indices traded mixed on Wednesday as markets awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Among Asian peers, Shanghai Composite, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng ended lower. European indices were trading in the green.
Apart from the US Fed rate outcome on late Wednesday, two other large central banks — Bank of England and Bank of Japan — are scheduled to announce their policy decision on Thursday.
Equity markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.