Sensex tumbles nearly 900 points: Top factors behind Thursday’s market fall

By The Business Standard

The 30-pack index had dropped over 900 points intra-day to hit a low of 61,715.61, while the 50-pack index hit a low of 18,388

Weak sentiments across global markets pushed domestic markets lower in Thursday’s trade after the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) hinted interest rates to peak above 5 percent by the end of 2023.

Moreover, the central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) in its December meeting to 4.25-4.5 percent, the highest since 2007.

Further, later today, the European Central Bank and Bank of England are due to announce their interest rate decisions.

The S&P BSE Sensex cracked 879 points, or 1.4 percent, to settle at 61,799.

The Nifty50, meanwhile, slipped below the 18,450 level to close at 18,415, down 245 points or 1.32 percent.

The 30-pack index had dropped over 900 points intra-day to hit a low of 61,715.61, while the 50-pack index hit a low of 18,388.

All sectors, too, drowned in the sea of red with the IT, and Media indices being the worst hit, declining 2 percent each.

However, analysts believe that the domestic market’s earning prospects and growth will help recoup losses going forward.

“The Indian market, though not completely decoupled from the mother market US, has been charting a slightly different path exhibiting surprising resilience even in the face of global weakness.

This is due to India’s superior growth and earnings prospects, going forward. However, high valuations and rising interest rates are likely to restrain the ongoing rally,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, at Geojit Financial Services.

Hawkish US Fed commentary: Not only did the US Fed hike interest rates by 50 bps to 4.25-4.5 percent in the December meeting, it also projected additional 0.75 increases by the end of 2023 until inflation is controlled.

Following the statement, the US equities turned negative on Wednesday, with Dow Jones, NASDAQ Composite, and the S&P 500 slipping up to 0.7 percent.

The weak global sentiments also dampened markets in Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Key indices Stoxx 600, Nikkei 225, Kospi, Kosdaq, the S&P 200, and Hang Seng indices dropped up to 2 percent in trade.

Index-heavyweights subdued: The benchmark indices fell over 1 percent in the intra-day trade driven by weakness across heavyweights like Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, SBI, Reliance Industries, and Titan, among many others.

Weak foreign flows: So far in the month of December, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold nearly Rs 5,000 crore worth of equities.

However, in the past two days, FIIs have turned net buyers of Indian equities and pumped over Rs 900 crore in India. On the flip side, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have supported the domestic markets by purchasing Rs 8,748 crore worth of equities so far this month.