Stock Market Today: Sensex Falls Over 200 Points, Nifty Below 15,300

The Indian equities benchmark opened on a negative note on Friday against the indication of the SGX index. At 9:21 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 215 points or 0.42 per cent lower at 51,280, whereas the NSE Nifty 50 index declined 86 points or 0.56 per cent at 15,274. On Thursday, Sensex plunged to a 52-week low of 51,425, whereas the Nifty 50 index declined to its 52-week low of 15,335.

Amongst the broader indices, Nifty Midcap 50 index fell 0.79 per cent at 7,139, whereas the Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 0.94 per cent at 25,935. Barring the metal stocks, all other sectoral indices were trading in red with pharma, healthcare, realty, and consumer durables witnessing heavy selling in early trade. 

Amongst the NSE listed companies, Bajaj Auto, Coal India Limited, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Hindalco were the top gainers, whereas Titan, Asian Paint, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Wipro, and Nestle India were the top losers. Amongst the BSE-listed companies, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and NTPC were the only gainers whereas Titan, Wipro, Asian Paint, Dr. Reddy’s TCS, Nestle India and Sun Pharma were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, the major indices in Asia were trading on a cautious note on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 2.27 per cent, whereas South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.23 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading 0.95 per cent higher. While China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.39 per cent, Shenzhen Component advanced 0.23 per cent. 

Notably, the major indices in the US were trading lower on Thursday a day after the Federal Reserve hiked the repo rate by 75 basis points. The S&P 500 declined 123.22 points or 3.3 per cent to 3,666, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 741 points or 2.4 per cent to 29,927. The Nasdaq Composite was trading 270 points or 2.5 per cent at 11,099. 

Back home, the foreign institutional investors (FII) continued to remain the net sellers worth Rs 3,257 crore, whereas the domestic institutional investors (DII) remained the net buyer’ worth Rs 1,929 crore on Thursday.

Notably, the equity investors in India became poorer by Rs 15.74 lakh crore in the last five days amidst weak global cues, unabated capital outflows as well as inflation concerns. The Indian Rupee recovered from its record low to close 12 paise higher at 78.10 against the US Dollar. 

Crude oil prices edged lower on Friday amidst the worries about global economic growth as well as uncertainty regarding the stock markets continue to impact oil demand. Brent crude futures fell 83 cents or 0.8 per cent to $118.98 per barrel, whereas U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 80 cents or 0.7 per cent to $116.79.

Tata Motors, Wipro, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Grasim, RITES, Telcos, and Fineotax Chemical are the stocks that will remain in focus on Friday.