Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Jan 27: In the face of negative global cues, Indian equity indices fell on Thursday, led by weakness in information technology firms.
Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Jerome Powell, has hinted at plans to gradually tighten policy. Investors have also been wary about escalating political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Back home, the monthly expiration of Futures and Options (F&O) added to the stress.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 581 points, or 1%, to 57,277 points, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 168 points, or 0.97 percent, to 17,110 points. The 30-share BSE index fell to an intraday low of 56,439 during the day, while the Nifty fell to a low of 16,867. Before settling in the red, both indexes pared some of their losses.
Mid- and small-cap stocks finished down, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index dropping 1.05 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index falling 0.73 percent.
On a stock-by-stock basis, HCL Technologies was the highest Nifty loser, falling 3.93 percent to Rs. 1,079.55. Among the laggards were Tech Mahindra, Dr. Reddy’s, TCS, and Wipro. Axis Bank, SBI, Cipla, Maruti, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, on the other hand, were among the gainers.
On the BSE, the overall market breadth was modest, with 1,479 shares increasing and 1,885 decreasing.
HCL Tech, TechM, Dr Reddy’s, Wipro, TCS, Titan, and Infosys suffered the greatest losses on the 30-share BSE platform, with their shares falling as much as 4.17 percent. Gainers were Axis Bank, SBI, Maruti, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, and ITC.
The central bank signalled in its most recent policy update that it expects to raise interest rates in the United States in March and confirmed plans to stop bond purchases before beginning a large reduction in its asset holdings. This year, investors are anticipating up to four rate hikes.
