The key benchmark indices started Wednesday’s session with cuts tracking weak global cues after a US Fed official on Tuesday indicated that the central bank will take a more aggressive approach in liquidity tightening. The Sensex was down 461.44 points or 0.77 per cent at 59,715.06, and the Nifty was down 128.60 points or 0.72 per cent at 17, 828.80. About 996 shares have advanced, 868 shares declined, and 122 shares are unchanged.
Coal India, Tata Steel, UPL, Bharti Airtel, and JSW Steel were among the major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were HDFC Bank, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tech Mahindra.
The broader markets also opened in line with the benchmarks with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices sliding up to 0.17 per cent.
Sectorally, Nifty Private Bank, and Financials were the top losers. Nifty FMCG and Realty were other notable losers. On the flip side, Nifty Metals, Media, PSBs and Energy indices were firmly higher.
Among stocks, Bandhan Bank was up over 1 per cent. The lender’s loans and advances stood at Rs 1.01 lakh crore as of 31 March, 2022, up 16 per cent year-on-year and 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Market has bounced back smartly from the recent Nifty low of below 16,000 to around 18,000 level assisted by positive news on the economy, crude declining from the peak of $139 and the proposed merger of the HDFC twins. Data relating to GST and credit growth indicate smart economic recovery and corporate tax collections for FY22 indicate earnings momentum. But since valuations are again high there will be selling at higher levels and therefore the market is likely to consolidate around current levels with subdued volatility in the near term.”
Global Cues
US stocks closed lower and bond yields jumped Tuesday as remarks by a Federal Reserve governor fueled expectations on Wall Street that the central bank is prepared to more aggressively raise interest rates and take other steps in a bid to tame surging inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.3 per cent after shedding a modest early gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq slid 2.3 per cent.
Asian share markets slipped on Wednesday as investors faced up to the possibility of aggressive monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve to fight inflation, while focus was also on new Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. In early trade in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei shed 1.5 per cent, while South Korean shares fell 0.8 per cent and Australian shares lost 1.2 per cent. Markets in mainland China were set to reopen after two days of public holidays.
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