Mumbai: Equity Benchmark Sensex Over 400 points fall in early trade on Friday, tracking losses in major index Reliance Industries, HDFC bank and ICICI Bank amid selloff in other Asian equities. The 30-share index was trading 445.02 points or 0.80 per cent lower at 55,184.47, while the broader NSE Nifty It closed at 16,421.75, down 147.10 points or 0.89 per cent.
Tata Steel was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, falling over 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy’s, SBI, L&T, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Infosys and Maruti were among the gainers.
In the previous session, the Sensex was down 162.78 points or 0.29 per cent at 55,629.49 and the Nifty was down 45.75 points or 0.28 per cent at 16,568.85. The stock market was closed on Thursday on account of Muharram.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 595.32 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data. “Taper rumours have again started affecting the markets. Minutes of the latest US Fed meeting indicate that a tapering of bond purchases may begin later this year. This created risk in the markets with the Dow and S&P 500 down 1.1 per cent on the 18th,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
That said tapering is negative news for markets as it will eventually reduce the liquidity available in the financial system, he said. “But the positive dimension is that the Fed is signaling a slowdown as the economic growth revival remains strong. If growth and earnings recovery strengthen, the market is likely to rebound after the initial shock.”
Elsewhere in Asia, shares in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with heavy losses in mid-session deals, amid growing concerns about the spread of the delta version of the coronavirus in the region. However, equities in the US ended largely on a positive note in overnight trade.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.42 per cent to $66.73 per barrel.
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