The planned monetary policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve is one of the factors keeping the markets in suspense
The planned monetary policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve is one of the factors keeping the markets in suspense
Stock benchmarks Sensex and Nifty halted their five-day rally on Tuesday and landed deep in the red, reflecting weak global markets, with index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys and HDFC Bank falling.
Despite opening with gains of over 200 points, the 30-piece Sensex became very volatile, falling 709.17 points or 1.26% to close at 55,776.85. During the day, the benchmark index fell 1,067.07 points, or 1.88%, to 55,418.95.
The broader NSE Nifty was also down 208.30 points, or 1.23%, to close at 16,663.
From the package of 30 Sensex stocks, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries Limited, Axis Bank and HCL Tech were the main drags.
On the other hand, winners included Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle India, Asian Paints and Titan.
Stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell sharply amid concerns about fresh virus lockdowns. Tokyo was marginally higher.
Stock markets in Europe mostly traded lower in afternoon trade.
The stock exchanges in the United States drew a mixed balance in overnight trading.
The scheduled Federal Reserve policy meeting is also keeping markets on their toes.
“The world stock market lost momentum as new financial and trade sanctions were imposed on Russia, along with the suspension of gas imports. This is a setback for market sentiment, which improved on anticipation of a war truce. The Indian market outperformed on the easing in commodity prices.
“Global markets are also declining ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent fell 6.11% to $100.4 a barrel.
Overseas institutional investors continued their selling spree in Indian markets as they sold ₹176.52 crore of shares on a net basis, according to stock market data on Monday.
Retail inflation hit an eight-month high of 6.07% in February, staying above the RBI’s comfort level for the second straight month, while wholesale price-based inflation rose to 13.11% on hardening crude oil and non-food items prices, government data showed on Monday.
