Markets: Global uncertainties pull Indian stocks down by over 1%
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Global uncertainties continued to drag Indian stocks down on Monday, as benchmark equity indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, ended the week’s first trading session lower, settling down by over 1 percent each.
The global uncertainties include the aftermath of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine, the impact of the two-week-long California wildfires causing a staggering loss of an estimated USD 100 billion or more, and the Union Budget India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table in the Lok Sabha on February 1.
The outgoing US President Joe Biden administration’s fresh sanctions on Russian oil exports also pushed the Indian rupee to a new low. It recorded its steepest single-day fall in nearly two years, declining 58 paise to close at a historic low of INR 86.62 against the US dollar. The Indian currency’s unprecedented decline was attributed to aggressive dollar buying by investors and substantial foreign capital outflows from Indian equities.
The 30-share Sensex tumbled 1.35 percent, or 1,031.65 points, to close at 76,347.26. Likewise, NSE Nifty50 ended lower by 1.47 percent, or 345.55 points, at 23,085.95.
The day ended in favor of the bears as 46 out of the 50 constituent stocks of Nifty50 ended in the red, dragged by Adani Enterprises, Trent, BPCL, Power Grid Corporation, and Bharat Electronics, with losses extending up to 6.21 percent.
However, Axis Bank, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, and IndusInd Bank were among the four constituent stocks that ended in the green, with gains extending up to 0.78 percent.
Broader markets also reflected these benchmarks as the Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices ended down by over 4 percent each. All sectoral indices on the NSE platform ended in the red.
Besides, Nifty Realty index ended down by 6.47 percent, and Nifty Media by 4.54 percent, while Nifty PSU Bank, Metal, Consumer Durables, and Healthcare indices ended down by over 3 percent each.
