Major benchmark stock indexes fell 1% on Monday as analysts said fears of an aggressive rate hike by the Federal Reserve pushed them higher.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 636.75 points, or 1.04%, to 60,657.45. Top Sensex losers were Tata Steel (2.32%), Power Grid (2.09%), Tata Motors (2.09%), Wipro (1.83%) and Infosys (1.82%). The NSE Nifty-50 index also fell 189.60 points, or 1.04%, to 18,042.95.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The domestic market traded with deep cuts influenced by global market concerns.” “Fears of an aggressive rate hike resurfaced ahead of the release of Fed meeting minutes, a meeting that left the door open for additional hikes.”
“Apart from global cues, the domestic market will pay close attention to corporate earnings. India’s services PMI rose to 58.5 in December on strong growth in new business.
Ajit Mishra, VP, Technical Research, Religare Broking said: “The decline was broad-based with realty, metals and energy being among the top losers. Broader indices also traded in tandem and each ended with losses of over one per cent.
“This fall has swallowed up last four sessions’ gains in Nifty and selling pressure in banking index, which was acting as a savior till now, further worsened the mood,” he added. Said.