Bloodbath continues over Dalal Street

A bloodbath continued over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty falling deep in the red amid signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not rush to lower interest rates. Heavy selling at Banking and Metal counters along with negative cues from other Asian markets kept indices lower. Traders got cautious as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) alerted high-street banks to get ready for an emerging multi-currency world amid measures to internationalise the rupee. The street overlooked Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal's statement that startups are playing a pivotal role in India's journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. Union Minister highlighted the diverse sectors in which startups are making substantial contributions, ranging from MedTech, FinTech, AgroTech to the aviation sector, drones, and simulators. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, after China's gross domestic product expanded 5.2 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2023, shy of expectations for 5.3 percent but up from 4.9 percent in the third quarter. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP rose 1.0 percent - in line with expectations and slowing from 1.3 percent in the three months prior.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.92%, while Small cap index was down by 0.69%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.49%, TECK up by 0.28% and Consumer Durables up by 0.11%, while Bankex down by 3.56%, Metal down by 2.21%, Basic Materials down by 1.83%, Realty down by 1.55% and Telecom down by 1.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech. up by 0.98%, Infosys up by 0.83%, TCS up by 0.49%, Titan up by 0.42% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.24%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 7.25%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.55%, Tata Steel down by 3.06%, ICICI Bank down by 2.45% and Axis Bank down by 2.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri has asserted that India can become a $5 trillion economy much before 2028 and said the country's energy transition needs to be done in an orderly manner to safeguard the interests of its large population. He said India is aware of its commitments towards sustainability goals and will meet all the targets in time while meeting the requirements of a growing economy.

The minister said ‘when it comes to energy, the relationship between economic growth and energy is very important. Because we are now close to a $4 trillion economy, but the fact is, we need to take care of a very large part of our population. It is one thing to be theorising about the need for the transition without having to take care of domestic compulsions. As far as India is concerned, availability and energy resources are important because we import a key portion of our crude oil requirements’. 

He also said ‘given the multiple crises the world is facing, a democratically elected government like we have in India has to ensure affordability also. Then comes sustainability, and we are fully committed to that also’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21667.25, down by 365.05 points or 1.66% after trading in a range of 21632.10 and 21851.50. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 2.14%, HCL Tech. up by 0.97%, Infosys up by 0.74%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.55% and TCS up by 0.53%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 7.15%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.44%, Tata Steel down by 3.02%, Hindalco down by 2.38% and ICICI Bank down by 2.38% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng declined 587.64 points or 3.85% to 15,278.28, Taiwan Weighted lost 185.08 points or 1.08% to 17,161.79, Nikkei 225 slipped 141.43 points or 0.4% to 35,477.75, KOSPI dropped 61.69 points or 2.53% to 2,435.90, Jakarta Composite plunged 54.28 points or 0.76% to 7,188.51, Shanghai Composite weakened 42.52 points or 1.49% to 2,851.47 and Straits Times fell 32.36 points or 1.03% to 3,152.63.