Stock Market Updates: Sensex Falls 650 pts, Nifty Below 18,200; All Sectors in Red

Sensex Today: BSE Sensex was trading 606 points or 0.96 per cent lower at 61,199.67. Meanwhile, Nifty50 was at 18,239, down 180 points or 0.98 per cent at around 9.40 am. The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by Rs 2.47 lakh crore to Rs 285.43 lakh crore.

“Investors continue to fret over the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance that could tip the world’s largest economy into recession next year,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities said.

“However, the major catalyst for investors would be the recent RBI monetary policy meeting’s minutes which are expected to be wired on Wednesday. This would provide some indication to traders on what holds for the markets in the medium term with regards to interest rates, inflation & economy,” Tapse added.

Among sectors, Nifty FMCG fell 0.92 per cent and Nifty IT 0.88 per cent. Auto, bank and metal indices also opened lower. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap50 lost 0.43 per cent and Smallcap50 0.46 per cent.

The yield on the 10-year bond opened higher on Tuesday at 7.34 per cent. The yield ended higher at 7.29 per cent on Monday.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The overarching theme impacting global equity markets now is the possibility of a U.S. recession in 2023. While a slowdown in the U.S. economy is a given, opinion is divided on whether the U.S. can manage a soft landing of the economy. Economic data indicate a slowing economy and declining inflation which implies that the Fed is close to pausing on rate hikes. Confirmation of this trend can lead to revival in equity markets. Economic and market indicators suggest that India’s outperformance can continue in 2023 too. Since valuations are on the higher side, a multi-asset allocation strategy would be appropriate for 2023. Besides equity, fixed income assets and gold should be an integral part of the portfolio in 2023.”

Global Cues

Globally, the US markets plunged into negative territory overnight as the hawkish forecast by the US Federal Reserve continued to haunt traders. Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite indices dropped up to 1 per cent.

Markets in Asia-Pacific, too, followed suit this morning and edged lower in trade. Key indices like Nikkei 225, the S&P 200, Kospi, Kosdaq, Topix, Hang Seng, and Shanghai Composite declined up to 1 per cent.

Meanwhile, in the commodities market, prices of Brent Crude and WTI Crude climbed over 0.7 per cent each to $80 per barrel, and $75 per barrel, respectively, amid renewed demand hopes on China easing covid-19 curbs.

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