Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 19 : The Indian stock markets on Thursday slumped drastically after witnessing selling pressure in major markets around the globe and an indication from the US Federal Reserve of fewer rate cuts next year, less than the anticipation of three or four.
During the day the benchmark indices traded under pressure as the Sensex plunged over 1,100 points while the Nifty dipped below 24,000.
At the close of the market, the Nifty 50 stood at 23,951.70, declining 247.15 points or 1.02 percent, and the Sensex ended at 79,218.05, declining 964.15 or 1.20 percent. This is fourth day when the indian stocks closed in red.
Among the sectoral indices on NSE, Bank, Auto, Financial Services, FMCG, IT, Media, Metal, PSU Banks, Private Banks, Reality, Consumer Durables, and Oil and Gas traded in red territory.
While the sectoral indices of Pharma traded in the green zone. The Nifty IT, Nifty Auto and Bank Nifty witnessed a major loss, falling nearly 2 percent.
The major gainers in today's trade were Dr. Reddy, Cipla, BPCL, Sun Pharma and Apollo Hospital, while the major losers constitute the stocks of Bajaj Finserve, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Grasim and Asian Paints.
"The Indian market saw a widespread decline following a global sell-off driven by the US Fed's hawkish stance on interest rates. Sectors sensitive to interest rates, such as banking and real estate, significantly bore the brunt. However, the BoJ's decision to keep its interest rate steady, which surprised economists, aided in reducing the selling pressure," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Observing the market, VLA Ambala, SEBI-registered research analyst and co-founder of Stock Market Today, stated that the pharma and consumer sectors, which are often viewed as the defensive sectors, took center stage today as the pharma sector was the only one to close in the green, while all other major sectors ended on a negative note.
She further added, "We need to understand that in such situations only technical price movements are not causing significant pressure in the Indian market. Factors like weaker financial results from leading corporates, soaring food inflation, elevated overall inflation, tough trade policies, a falling rupee, and declining forex reserves are also working as a way of adding pressure."
As per the analysts, expectations of rate cuts from developed economies, which India cannot currently match due to fiscal constraints, are affecting market conflicts.
As per the market analysts, the major reason for the sharp selling pressure in the opening session is the reduction in the rate cut cycles by the US Federal Reserve, which was earlier expected to implement more rate cuts this year.
This led to a fall in major markets globally as the rate cuts were expected to boost the economy and show signs of decreasing inflation.