Sensex slumps over 1,100 points, Nifty settles near 10,800-mark on F&O expiry and global selloff

Sensex slumps over 1,100 points, Nifty settles near 10,800-mark on F&O expiry and global selloff
The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 1,114.82 points (2.96 per cent) to finish at 36,553.60, while the Nifty 50 tanked 326.30 points (2.93 per cent) to settle near 10,800-mark at 10,805.55.

An electronic ticker board displays stock figures outside the Bombay stock market (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National stock market (NSE) fell for the sixth consecutive day, registering their sharpest fall in over four months on Thursday after crashing nearly 3 per cent, amid a pointy selloff within the global markets and expiry of September-series futures and options (F&O) contracts.

The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 1,114.82 points (2.96 per cent) to finish at 36,553.60, while the Nifty 50 tanked 326.30 points (2.93 per cent) to settle near 10,800-mark at 10,805.55. Both the indices had opened nearly 1.5 per cent lower earlier within the day and extended their losses because the day progressed.

IndusInd Bank was the worst performer on the BSE benchmark slipping 7.10 per cent on Thursday. it had been followed by Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Tata Steel. On the opposite hand, only Hindustan Unilever ended with gains, rising 0.36 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index was the worst sectoral performer on the NSE, falling 4.24 per cent dragged by Jindal Steel & Power, NMDC, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and National Aluminium Company. it had been closely followed by the Nifty IT index which fell 4.20 per cent weighed by Mphasis, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Coforge.

In the broader market, S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 304.71 points (2.14 per cent) to finish at 13,933.21, while S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 14,168.28, down 331.25 points (2.28 per cent).

Rupee
The rupee depreciated 32 paise to settle at 73.89 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as sell-off in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.82, then fell further to finally close at 73.89 against the American currency, registering a fall of 32 paise over its last close. On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated by one paisa to settle at 73.57 against the US dollar.

During the session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.75 and a coffee of 73.96 against the greenback. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 per cent to 94.42.

Global markets
Global shares slid and therefore the dollar rose on Thursday on investor concern about another economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic, before German sentiment data and speeches from a clutch of central bankers.

After a summer lull in much of Europe, the infection rate has begun to rise sharply, with variety of nations including Britain introducing tougher rules to assist limit the spread of the virus.

The MSCI World index was down 0.6 per cent at 0733 GMT, its fifth day within the red out of the last six and hovering near a two-month low. Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.93 per cent, chalking up their worst day in two months after economic warnings from US Federal Reserve System officials.

A railroad track of Europe’s top shares, the STOXX Europe 600, was down 1 per cent.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.92 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 2.37 per cent and therefore the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.02 per cent.

Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida and Cleveland Federal Reserve System Bank President Loretta Mester both said the economy remained during a “deep hole”, with Clarida calling for more stimulus.

Yet political stalemate in Washington continues to frustrate efforts to prop the world’s biggest economy, beset by one among the worst COVID-19 death rates globally.

– rupee input from PTI, global market input from Reuters

News source

Read more