Stock markets opened red on Monday as Sensex fell 825.61 points to 57,365.68 in early trade and Nifty slipped 249.95 points to 17,064.70 levels. The stock market was dragged down by a decline in automobile stocks and weak cues from Asian markets after a strong US jobs report strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to continue with rate hikes.
Shares of HDFC Twins, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers on BSE. Among individual stock moves, IDBI Bank surged 11 per cent after the government said on Friday it was looking to sell a 60.72 per cent stake in the bank and invited expressions of interest.
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Last week, the Nifty 50 index and the 30-stock BSE index registered their first weekly gain in four by rising over 1 per cent, reported news agency Reuters. In early trades, the Nifty auto index lost 1.6 per cent.
Tata Motors Ltd was the top loser on the Nifty 50 index falling 4 per cent, according to the news agency Reuters.
Investors will closely watch the corporate earnings in the next few weeks, with IT service provider Tata Consultancy Services on Monday kicking off the earnings season with the quarterly results announcement later in the day.
The rupee depreciated further by 13 paise to hit a new lifetime closing low of 82.30 against the US dollar on Friday as a firm American currency and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.
Meanwhile, stocks declined in Asia on Monday as geopolitical tensions weighed on the markets as investors track how the Kremlin will respond to the blast that hit Russia’s only bridge to Crimea.
Holidays in Japan and South Korea led to thin trading in Asia, while the Treasury market is also shut on Monday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 1.4 per cent. Nikkei futures traded at 26,575 compared to Friday’s cash close of 27,116. Oil prices soared about 4 per cent to a five-week high on Friday, lifted again by an OPEC+ decision this week to make its largest supply cut since 2020 despite concern about a possible recession and rising interest rates.
US Federal Reserve officials do not seem to be withdrawing the most aggressive rate hike campaign in decades stressing that the inflation fight continues to persist.
(With agency inputs)