Sensex slumps over 400 points; Nifty slips below 16,500
Equity benchmark Sensex tanked over 400 points in early trade on Friday, tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank amid a selloff in other Asian equities. The 30-share index was trading 445.02 points or 0.80 percent lower at 55,184.47, while the broader NSE Nifty slumped 147.10 points or 0.89 percent to 16,421.75.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over three percent, followed by Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Dr. Reddy's, SBI, L&T, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Infosys, and Maruti were among the gainers.
Stock market was closed on Thursday on account of Muharram
In the previous session, Sensex closed 162.78 points or 0.29 percent lower at 55,629.49, and Nifty declined 45.75 points or 0.28 percent to 16,568.85. The stock market was closed on Thursday on account of Muharram. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs. 595.32 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.
Tapering of bond purchases may start later this year: Expert
"Taper rumors have again started impacting markets. Minutes of the latest US Fed meet indicate that tapering of bond purchases may start later this year," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. "This triggered a risk-off in markets with the Dow and S&P 500 correcting by 1.1 percent each on the 18th," he added.
Markets are likely to stage a rebound: Expert
Tapering is negative news for markets since it will eventually reduce the liquidity available in the financial system, Vijayakumar noted. "But the positive dimension is that the Fed is indicating tapering since economic growth revival is strong. If growth and earnings recovery is strong, markets are likely to stage a rebound after the initial jitters," he noted.
Meanwhile, Brent crude trading at $66.73 per barrel
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with heavy losses in mid-session deals amid mounting worries of the spread of delta variant of coronavirus in the region. However, equities in the US largely ended on a positive note in overnight trade. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.42 percent to $66.73 per barrel.
