Experts said investors took a cautious approach ahead of the inflation figures and in view of several central bank meetings this week.
The market fell for the second consecutive trading session and the 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 58,283.42 points with a loss of 503.25 points, or 0.86 per cent.
Similarly, the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange lost 143.05 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 17,368.25.
Bajaj Finance was the biggest loser with a fall of 3.10 percent in the Sensex shares. Apart from this, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle India, State Bank of India and HDFC also declined.
RIL and HDFC Ltd. in total decline in value terms. And HDFC Bank’s share was about half.
On the other hand, gainers include Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, PowerGrid, Titan, Dr Reddy’s and Sun Pharma. Of these, there was a profit of up to 2.38 percent. Out of 30 Sensex stocks, 23 were in losses.
Geojit Financial Services Ltd. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, said the rapid rise in Omicron cases in the UK is a cause for concern for global markets.
He said meetings of the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are due this week. These will provide signals about key policy rates, bond yields and market direction.
According to Vijayakumar, the selling of foreign portfolio investors continues. In November, he sold shares worth Rs 33,799 crore while in December till date (December 10) he sold shares worth Rs 17,644 crore. This is affecting the domestic market especially bank stocks.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The market crashed ahead of the domestic inflation data and central bank meetings of major countries… Continued selling by FIIs also had a negative impact on the market.”
Globally, South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were among the gainers in other Asian markets, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei ended in losses.
There was a sharp trend in the afternoon trading in the major markets of Europe.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was up 0.11 per cent at $75.23 per barrel.
The rupee exchange rate remained stable at 75.78 against the US dollar.
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,092.40 crore on Friday, according to stock market data.
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