Sensex crashes 1,158 points, Nifty holds 15,800-mark on weak global cues

Extending their losses for the fifth consecutive session, the frontline equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended over 2 per cent lower on Thursday tracking the weakness in the global market.

the S&P BSE Sensex crashed 1,158.08 points (2.14 per cent) to settle at 52,930.31, while the Nifty 50 ended at 15,808.00, down 359.10 points (2.22 per cent). Both the indices had opened over 1 per cent lower and slipped further as the trade progressed with the Sensex hitting an intraday low of 52,702.30 and the broader Nifty touching 15,735.75.

As many as 28 out of 30 Sensex stocks ended in the red with IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj twins – Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, HDFC twins – HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Titan Company and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) being the worst performers of the day. Only Wipro and HCL Technologies managed to end marginally in the green.

All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in a sea of red with the Nifty PSU Bank crashing 5.39 per cent weighed by Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank. The Nifty Metal index was another top loser falling 3.70 per cent dragged by Jindal Stainless (Hisar), APL Apollo Tubes and Vedanta. The key Bank Nifty too fell 3.35 per cent due to a dop in share prices of IndusInd Bank, The Federal Bank and Bank of Baroda.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 21,645.13, down 495.84 points (2.24 per cent) while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 24,995.51, down 500.41 points (1.96 per cent). On NSE, the volatility index or India VIX rose 6.41 per cent to 24.27.

“Yesterday’s release of higher-than-expected US CPI data suggests that the inflationary pressure will persist in the near term. However, it is presumed to have peaked and will gradually decline in-line with the ongoing fall in crude and other commodity prices, and slowdown in the economy. The Fed surprised the market with a hawkish stance, limiting liquidity, which limits further setbacks in the future. We can expect the market to stabilize as FIIs may reduce selling factoring inflation & Fed policy,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global market
World shares fell Thursday following the release of US inflation data that was higher than expected. US futures and oil prices also fell. A pledge by Chinese leaders of more support for the slowing economy appeared to have little impact.

A report from the US Labor Department showed inflation slowed a touch in April, down to 8.3% from 8.5% in March. The data suggest the consumer price index, or CPI, may be peaking and set to ease further, but the decline was smaller than hoped for and it reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates to counter rising prices.

In Frankfurt, the DAX fell 1.8% to 13,578.21 while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.9% to 6,150.85. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 2% to 7,200.33. The future for the S&P 500 was 0.2% lower while that for the Dow industrials lost 0.1%.

Hong Kong’s benchmark fell 2.2% to 19,380.34 following the arrests of several prominent democracy advocates, including a retired Roman Catholic cardinal. In other Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gave up 1.8% to 25,748.72. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.1% to 3,054.99. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8% to 6,941.00. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.6% to 2,550.08.