Stock Market Today: Sensex crashes 1,416 points, Nifty ends near 15,800-mark amid weak global cues

The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 1,416.30 points (2.61 per cent) to end at 52,792.23 while the Nifty 50 fell 430.90 points (2.65 per cent) to settle at 15,809.40. Both the indices had opened over 1.8 per cent lower earlier in the day and declined further as the trade progressed with the Sensex falling to an intraday low of 52,669.51 and the broader Nifty touched 15,775.20.

On the Sensex pack, 28 out of 30 stocks ended in the red. HCL Technologies, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were the top losers on Thursday. Only ITC and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories ended in the green.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 602.43 points (2.66 per cent) lower at 22,069.73. Mphasis, MindTree, Info Edge (India), Nippon Life India Asset Management, Indraprastha Gas and Canara Bank were the among the top laggards here. Likewise, the S&P BSE SmallCap fell 603.74 points (2.29 per cent) to settle at 25,801.04. On NSE, the volatility index or India VIX surged 10.14 per cent to 24.56.

All the sectoral indices on NSE ended with sharp cuts on Thursday. The Nifty IT index was the top loser on Thursday, falling 5.74 per cent dragged by the shares of Mphasis, L&T Technology Services and Coforge. The NIfty Metal index too fell 4.08 per cent weighed by Vedanta, JSW Steel and Tata Steel. The key Bank Nifty declined 2.48 per cent led by a fall in Bandhan Bank, IndusInd Bank and IDFC First Bank.

“The recent earnings reported by the US retailers reflected the heat of high retail inflation, resulting in the rout in Wall Street. Persistent offloading by foreign investors along with mounting fears of an economic slowdown wreaked havoc in the domestic market. In this highly volatile market, investors can focus on sectors like FMCG, Pharma, Capital goods and manufacturing whose valuations are moderate and reasonable on a long term basis,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global market

Shares declined in Europe and Asia on Thursday after a broad retreat on Wall Street triggered by worries over the impact of persistent high inflation on corporate profits and consumer spending. US futures were lower, while oil prices advanced.

Germany’s DAX lost 2 per cent to 13,731.64 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 1.9 per cent to 6,234.78. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 1.7 per cent to 3,537.99. The future for the S&P 500 was 1 per cent lower while the future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 0.9 per cent.

The Dow industrials sank more than 1,100 points, or 3.6 per cent on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 had its biggest drop in nearly two years, shedding 4 per cent. That was its steepest decline since June 2020. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 4.7 per cent.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 1.9 per cent to 26,402.84 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 2.5 per cent to 20,120.60. In South Korea, the Kospi shed 1.3 per cent to 2,592.34, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave up 1.7 per cent to 7,064.50. The Shanghai Composite index reversed earlier losses, gaining 0.4 per cent to 3.096.96.

-global market input from AP