Stock Market Opens Red: Sensex Falls 350 Points; Nifty Below 17,050, Asian Paints, HCL Among Losers

Stock Update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma were trading with gains. On the flip side, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Wipro, Infosys, were among the losers

The broader markets opened on a weaker note. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell up to 0.3 per cent.

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The stock market opened red on Thursday as global sentiments turned weaker after the US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate by 25 basis points last night. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to take the federal funds rate to the 4.75-5 per cent range, while signaling a pause in further rate hikes amidst the recent financial sector turmoil. 

At 9.30 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 350 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 57,864 in early trade, while the Nifty50 was at 17,046, down by 105 points or 0.61 per cent.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, and Tata Motors were trading with gains. On the flip side, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Wipro, Infosys, Powergird, and Reliance were among the early losers.

Among individual stocks, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, and Larsen and Toubro were among the major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, Asian Paints, Wipro, and Power Grid Corporation.

The broader markets also opened on a weaker note. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell up to 0.3 per cent. Volatility gauge, Volatility gauge India VIX, meanwhile, rose over 1 per cent.

 

All sectors started the trade in negative territory, except Nifty Pharma, all sectors plunged into the red. The Nifty IT index was the worst as it declined 1 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled at 58,215, up 140 points or 0.24 per cent at the closing bell, while, the Nifty50 ended at 17,143, up 35 points or 0.2 per cent. 

Overnight, Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected 25 basis point policy hike and hinted that it was on the verge of pausing future increases in view of the recent turmoil in the financial sector.  Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.63 per cent, S&P 500 lost 1.65 per cent and Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6 per cent. 

Elsewhere in Asia, stocks struggled Thursday. Indexes fell in Japan, South Korea, and Australia Japan’s Topix fell 1 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.7 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.9 per cent, while Hang Seng Index futures rose 0.8 per cent. 

In the early trades, the rupee jumped 27 paise to 82.32 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened stronger at 82.38 against the dollar, climbed as high as 82.26, and hit the lowest level of 82.41. Later, the Indian currency was trading at 82.32, registering a gain of 27 paise over its previous close.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.23 per cent lower at 102.11.

Oil prices also fell on Thursday after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell re-stated his commitment to curbing inflation. Brent crude futures fell 1 per cent, to $75.89 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) dropped 1.2 per cent, to $70.06.