It’s a rather worrying Friday for D-Street after some days of consolidation. The Indian equity markets fell on Friday during the early trading hours. The Nifty 50 slipped 1.4% to 24,180.80, breaching the key level of 24,200, from the day’s high of 24,520.80. While, the 30-stock Sensex fell 1,141.26 points or 1.4% from the day’s high of 81,224.08.
The major losers during the trade include Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, and Hindalco. Index heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Axis Bank, and L&T were the top five contributors to the downward trajectory of Nifty 50.
The key sectoral indices under pressure include metals, PSU banks, realty, pharma, oil & gas, etc.
“Today’s market fall is driven by muted global cues. Most markets across the globe are down. While the sharp correction in equity markets has abated but growth concerns aren’t pushing investors to aggressively buy into the markets,” said Pawan Parakh, Fund Manager at Geojit Financial Services.
Here are some factors that are worrying investors –
1. Asia under pressure
In the morning, Asian markets were trading in red as they mirrored the fall overnight across US markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 1.5% lower at 39,247.41. The Chinese index Shanghai Composite was down 1.64% at 3,404.64. The Asia Dow has slipped 0.27% to 3,757.68.
2. US data worries – Inflation trending up
Overnight in the US markets, stocks dipped as the producer price index, a key US inflation report, came higher than expectations. The wholesale inflation increased 0.4% last month against the expectations of a 0.2% increase on a monthly basis. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.66% to end at 19,902.84. The S&P 500 declined 0.54% to close at 6,051.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 234.44 points, or 0.53% to end at 43,914.12.
3. Resumption of selling by FIIs
Moreover, some selling by FIIs over the last few sessions could also be weighing on investor sentiment. Overall FIIs have sold Rs 2.78 lakh crore in 2024 so far with Rs 1.6 lakh crore sold in October and November. However, for December, FIIs have been net buyers so far.
The Nifty 50 has overall been positive in December as of now, but in October the index was down as much as 6.2%.
» Read More
