Indian markets ended lower on Wednesday as the Sensex fell 429 points and Nifty dropped over 173 points. Investors reacted to the RBI’s rate hike and calibrated tightening stance. Vinod Nair said, "The domestic market reacted more sharply to the shift in policy stance from neutral to calibrated tightening."
Synopsis
Indian markets ended lower on Wednesday as the Sensex fell 429 points and Nifty dropped over 173 points, snapping a two-session rally. Investors reacted to the RBI’s rate hike and calibrated tightening stance, while banking stocks gained and broader sentiment remained cautious.
The Indian stock market closed in the red on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty snapping a two-session relief rally as investors reacted to the RBI’s first rate hike in nearly four years and its shift to a ‘calibrated tightening’ stance.
Sensex lost 429 points to close below 72,639 while Nifty 50 dropped more than 173 points to end the session near 22,603. Broader markets were mixed, with Nifty Midcap 100 in the red and Nifty Smallcap 100 in the green.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse
With the RBI delivering the rate hike on expected lines, the domestic market reacted more sharply to the shift in policy stance from neutral to calibrated tightening, which signals a turn in the rate cycle, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments. While the upward revision to growth projections reaffirmed the strength of domestic fundamentals, the higher inflation outlook and the RBI's emphasis on price stability tempered sentiment, he added.
Live Events
“Ahead of the U.S. FOMC meeting, the rupee remained under pressure amid rising U.S. yields, a stronger dollar and continued FII outflows, adding to the market decline. Sectorally, banking stocks bucked the broader weakness on expectations of margin benefits from a higher-rate environment, while selling pressure remained widespread across most pockets of the market,” he added.
“Looking ahead, the market focus will turn to the September-quarter earnings season for further direction. A resilient macroeconomic backdrop supports headline expectations, but investors will watch management commentary closely for evidence on whether the companies can absorb rising input costs, retain pricing power and sustain demand through the second half of the fiscal year,” according to the analyst.
US stocks
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 eased from record highs on Wednesday as Treasury yields and oil prices rebounded, keeping investors cautious as they awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting.
Sentiment turned more cautious as investors reassessed the outlook for interest rates and energy costs. Brent crude was back above the psychologically important $100-a-barrel level as Middle East supply concerns persisted.
Chip stocks were among the top decliners. Memory chip firm Micron Technology dropped 2.3%, chip giant Nvidia eased 0.7% and the broader Philadelphia chip index fell 2.3%.
European markets
European stocks and the euro fell sharply on Wednesday as oil prices rose above $100 amid renewed Middle East tensions while concerns France's fiscal woes could affect broader debt markets continued to weigh on overall sentiment.
Europe's STOXX 600 was down 1.02% at 630.12. It hit 624.85 last week, its lowest level since June 12.
The euro tumbled on Wednesday as French bonds came under renewed pressure on fiscal concerns, while the dollar advanced as investors awaited the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the central bank's policy path.
Yields on euro zone bonds rose, with those of more indebted countries spiking more sharply than those of safe havens such as Germany as French fiscal worries dragged on and oil prices came back into focus.
The French 10-year yield surged 14.9 basis points, on track for its biggest daily jump in two weeks, at 4.8959% while the German 10-year bond yield edged up 0.8 basis point to 3.489%.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Chennai Petro (Rs 3,133 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 2,553 crore), BSE (Rs 2,194 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 2,111 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,993 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 1,666 crore) and RIL (Rs 1,438 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 37.7 crore), Yes Bank (Traded shares: 7.39 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 7.35 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 6.14 crore), ITC (Traded shares: 5 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 4.42 crore) and Groww (Traded shares: 4.24 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Chennai Petro, PVR Inox, PTC Industries, Bharti Hexacom, Cupid, Physicswallah and AGC Networks were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52-week high
Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs on NSE included PVR Inox, PTC Industries, Cupid, Gland Pharma, HFCL, TBO Tek and Laurus Labs.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were NALCO, GSK Pharma, Vedanta Iron and Steel, Titan Company, Adani Enterprises, Balkrishna Industries and IndusInd Bank.
52-week low
Among the ones which hit their 52-week lows on NSE included KEC International, UPL, Century Textiles, Inox Wind, SBI Card, Chambal Fertilisers and M&M.
Sentiment meter favours bears
Out of the 3,690 stocks that traded on the NSE on October 7, Wednesday, 2,043 stocks witnessed advances, 1,549 stocks saw declines while 98 stocks remained unchanged.
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
(What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)
Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.
Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
...moreless
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
(What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)
Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.
Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
...moreless
The NBFC saga - Part 1: How RBI moved from protecting depositors to policing systemic risk