Investors resort to book profits on weak global cues
Market benchmarks halt 3-day rally as banking, IT, financial stocks weigh
image for illustrative purpose
Mumbai Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure on Thursday as investors pared exposure to banking, IT and finance stocks after three sessions of gains amid the US Fed’s hawkish stance on interest rates. A weak opening in European markets and the depreciating rupee also sapped risk appetite, traders said.
After rallying for the past three days, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 310.88 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 62,917.63. During the day, it tumbled 357.43 points or 0.56 per cent to 62,871.08. The NSE Nifty declined 67.80 points or 0.36 per cent to end at 18,688.10.
“The domestic market is responding to the Fed’s hawkish commentary, which suggests the possibility of two more rate hikes in the future this year, although they have currently opted for a halt. Despite weakness in the benchmark index, there is buying interest observed with the Nifty Mid-cap index trading at an all-time high,” said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,714.72 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.30 per cent and smallcap index advanced 0.12 per cent. Among the indices, bankex fell by 1.28 per cent, financial services declined by 0.92 per cent, realty (0.78 per cent), teck (0.60 per cent), IT (0.51 per cent) and metal (0.38 per cent).
