Overall market breadth remained weak in 934 stocks, while 2,373 shares declined on the BSE.
New Delhi: Indian equity benchmarks fell on Friday, halting a three-day winning streak as investors worried about foreign fund outflows after US inflation data marked the biggest annual rise in 40 years. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 773 points or 1.31 per cent lower at 58,153, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 231 points or 1.31 per cent lower at 17,375.
Mid- and small-cap stocks ended in negative territory as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 2.02 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index lost 2.37 per cent.
All 15 sector gauges – compiled by the National Stock Exchange – closed in the red. Nifty IT underperformed the index with a fall of 2.72 per cent.
US data shows consumer prices rose 7.5 percent in January on a year-on-year basis. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the data had made him “dramatically” more rigid, after sentiment fell further. Bullard, a voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee this year, said he now wants a full percentage of interest rate hikes by July 1.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept key rates unchanged to support economic growth. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the lending rate or repo rate at 4 per cent and the reverse repo rate, or prime lending rate, at 3.35 per cent.
“There was some enthusiasm post (RBI) policy. But, with global cues, there is going to be (foreign) outflows again. Though we are currently in the status quo, if the US rate hikes in March, there will be outflows. Continue,” Arihant Capital Markets director Anita Gandhi told Reuters news agency.
Reuters data shows foreign investors have sold a net $5.58 billion in Indian equities so far this year, compared to a net purchase of $5.08 billion in the same period last year.
On the stock-specific front, Grasim Industries was the top Nifty leader as the stock was down 3.39 per cent at Rs 1,708.60. Tech Mahindra, Infosys, UPL and HCL Tech were also among the losers.
Besides, Zomato fell 5.98 per cent as the food delivery firm’s expenses stood at Rs 1,642.6 crore in the third quarter (Q3) as against Rs 755.7 crore in the same period last fiscal.
On the flipside, IOC, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC and BPCL were among the gainers.
Overall market breadth remained weak in 934 stocks, while 2,373 shares declined on the BSE.
TechM, Infosys, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cements and Wipro lost up to 2.94 per cent in their shares on the 30-share platform of the BSE.
And, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, M&M and ITC were among the gainers.
Mohit Nigam, PMS Head, Hem Securities said, “On the technical front, Nifty 50 has 17,250 and 17,450 immediate support and resistance respectively. For Bank Nifty, 38,200 and 38,800 are the respective immediate support and resistance.”
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