Stock Markets Today: Equity markets cracked, while bond yields on the 10-year government securities firmed up, in the second half of the trading session on Friday as growth concerns weighed on investor sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 937 points from the day’s high and hit a low of 59,474 during the day. It, eventually, closed at 59,646, down 652 points or 1.08 per cent. The NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, touched an intra-day low of 17,710 before settling 198 points, or 1.1 per cent, lower at 17,758.
Top Gainers & Losers
The broad-based sell-off was led by financials including IndusInd Bank (down 4 per cent), Bajaj twins, SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, and HDFC duo. That apart, Tata Steel, NTPC, HUL, Maruti Suzuki, RIL, and M&M were the other heavyweight losers. The only Sensex gainers were L&T, Infosys, and TCS.
Sectorally, the BSE Metal index shed 1.8 per cent, the BSE Bankex index 1.7 per cent, and the BSE PSU index 1.6 per cent
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 1.27 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The market momentum which pushed the Nifty up by 18 per cent from the June lows is likely to face some headwinds from now on. The sudden sharp spike in the dollar index to 107.6 will impact capital flows to emerging markets like India. The consistent FII buying seen in August is likely to lose steam impacting sentiments. The elevated valuations do not justify further run-up in markets. Some profit booking and diversion of money to fixed income may be considered as a short-term strategy. Buy on dips can be considered in high-quality financials, leading names in capital goods and autos.”
Global Cues
Globally, the US markets saw marginal gains on Thursday as Dow Jones rose 0.06 per cent, whereas both S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite gained 0.2 per cent each.
US stocks ended higher Thursday as an upbeat sales forecast from Cisco Systems helped to lift the technology sector, while data showed the economy remained relatively strong. Investors were still assessing Wednesday’s minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, which they initially saw as supporting a less aggressive stance by the central bank.
Major markets in Asia-Pacific, however, edged lower in Friday’s morning trade. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.3 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped nearly 1 per cent, and Australia’s S&P 200 fell 0.2 per cent.
Tokyo stocks opened higher Friday as investors searched for new cues ahead of next week’s annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.58 per cent, or 167.65 points, to 29,109.79 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.49 per cent, or 9.78 points, to 2,000.28.
Meanwhile, prices of crude oil edged up on hopes of stronger demand. Brent crude climbed 0.1 per cent to $96 per barrel and WTI Crude gained 0.2 per cent to $90 per barrel.
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