Sensex sinks more than 1,000 points

New Delhi, Jan 17: BSE Sensex plunged more than 1,000 points on Wednesday led by losses in HDFC Bank.

Sensex is down 1,044 points at 72,084 points.

HDFC Bank plunged 6 per cent after its results and several bank stocks are also down. Kotak Mahindra is down more than 2 per cent, Tata Steel is down 2 per cent, ICICI Bank is down 2 per cent.

Market is likely to turn slightly weak in the near-term, getting impacted by some negative global and domestic cues, says V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

The global negativity will come from the rising bond yields in the US (the 10-year yield is at 4.04 per cent) responding to concerns that the sharp rate cuts expected from the Fed this year may not materialise.

Now indications are that the Fed is unlikely to cut in March and the total cuts in 2024 may not be five or six that the market had partly discounted. This will be a drag on global equity markets.

Domestically, even though the economy is doing well and corporate earnings are good, all these positives are in the price and the valuations are elevated warranting a correction.

The mid and small cap space is highly overvalued and is sustaining at high levels only by the high liquidity in the system. Some profit booking and moving the money to fixed income can be considered now, he said.