Sensex drops over 300 points in early trade
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled over 300 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries amid a largely negative trend in global equities. The 30-share BSE index was trading 302.80 points or 0.58 percent lower at 52,199.18 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 93.70 points or 0.59 percent to 15,673.85.
Here are the gainers and losers
Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around one percent, followed by PowerGrid, HDFC, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank. On the other hand, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs. 870.29cr on Wednesday
In the previous session, Sensex ended 271.07 points or 0.51 percent lower at 52,501.98, and Nifty retreated from a record and declined 101.70 points or 0.64 percent to 15,767.55. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs. 870.29 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.
Slight hawkish policy meeting outcome of FOMC may affect sentiments
"Domestic equities do not look to be good as of now," Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities said. "While soft bond yields and improving prospects of earnings visibility have resulted in FIIs' flow to turn favorable in the last couple of days, slight hawkish policy meeting outcome of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) may weigh on sentiments in the near term," he noted.
Brent crude was trading at $73.99 per barrel
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading on a positive note, while Seoul and Tokyo were in the red in mid-session deals. US equities finished lower after the US Federal Reserve indicated it might ease off economic stimulus earlier than previously thought. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.54 percent lower at $73.99 per barrel.
'Pandemic to have diminishing effect on economy as vaccinations increase'
The Fed's policymakers forecast that they would raise their benchmark short-term rate, which influences many consumer and business loans, twice by late 2023. They had previously estimated that no rate hike would occur before 2024. The Fed also said it expects the pandemic to have a diminishing effect on the economy as vaccinations increase, thereby allowing for more growth.
