Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Dec.14: The spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant rattled investors who were already on edge ahead of a slew of central bank decisions this week, including a key Federal Reserve meeting.
The Indian equity benchmarks opened gap down on Tuesday on the back of weak cues from other Asian markets as the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant rattled investors who were already on edge ahead of a slew of central bank decisions this week, including a key Federal Reserve meeting. The Sensex dropped almost 350 points, and the Nifty 50 index plunged below 17,250, a key psychological milestone. The Sensex was dragged down by Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, and ICICI Bank.
The Sensex was down 344 points at 57,939 at 10.18 a.m., and the Nifty 50 index was down 96 points at 17,271.65.
Outside of Japan, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks was down 0.46 percent.
China’s CSI300 index fell 0.41 percent after health officials in Tianjin discovered the country’s first Omicron case on the mainland.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 1%, the KOSPI in South Korea was down 0.4%, the Nikkei market index in Japan was down 0.13 percent, and Australian shares were down 0.31 percent.
The Federal Reserve is anticipated to announce a speedier wind-down of its $120 billion monthly bond-buying programme on Wednesday, putting it one step closer to raising interest rates.
Eleven of the 15 sector indices in India were trading lower, topped by the Nifty Auto index, which was down 0.7 percent. The indices Nifty Financial Services, Bank, Information Technology, Private Bank, Realty, and Oil & Gas were all trading down.
Stocks in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and metal industries, on the other hand, were seeing increased purchasing activity.
Mid- and small-cap stocks traded in a mixed bag, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index down 0.25 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index up 0.12 percent.
Tata Motors was the worst performer on the Nifty, falling 1.3 percent to 489. Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Shree Cements, Britannia Industries, and Bajaj Finserv all saw their stock prices drop by 0.5-1 percent.
On the other hand, gainers included Power Grid, Cipla, Hindalco, NTPC, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, UPL, Hindustan Unilever, and Coal India.
On the BSE, the overall market breadth was positive, with 1,587 shares rising and 1,071 falling.
