Domestic stock indices opened sharply lower in Friday’s trade, tracking an overnight fall in US stocks. A 60 per cent crash in shares of Silicon Valley Bank spooked US investors, weighing in on sentiment in Asia today.
At 9.35 am, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex was trading at 59,004.37, down 801.97 points, or 1.34 per cent. NSE’s Nifty50 fell 231.80 points, or 1.32 per cent, to 17,357.80. Broader markets were also trading lower, with the BSE’s midcap and smallcap index dropping about 1 per cent each. India VIX spiked sharply, rising more than 7 per cent to 13.67-level.
Nifty started the session on a subdued note. The index on Thursday made a Bearish Engulfing candle on the daily chart that engulfed the real body of the past two sessions, said ICICIDirect Research.
“Going ahead, we expect the index to consolidate in the 17,200-17,800 for a few sessions. For a meaningful rally, the index needs to sustain above the 17,800 mark. Structurally, we maintain our positive stance and expect Nifty to head towards 18,300 in March, as it is a retracement of the past three months’ decline,” it said.
All sectoral indices were trading in the red. The Banking index plunged 2 per cent, followed by Financial Services and Metal Indices. Nifty IT index and Realty index shed 1 per cent each.
Among Adani group stocks, Adani Enterprises plunged over 6 per cent; NDTV hit a lower circuit of 5 per cent. Adani Wilmar and Adani Power were down 4 per cent each. Adani Ports, ACC and Ambuja Cements shed 2 per cent each. On the contrary, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission and Adani Green hit an upper circuit of 5 per cent each.
Tata Motors rose about 1 per cent after its subsidiary Tata Technologies filed DRHP with Sebi to launch its IPO. Bharti Airtel was also up after some positive brokerage reports. Bajaj Auto and Britannia Industries were the only gainers on the index.
Among the losers, HDFC twins dropped up to 3 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank and Apollo Hospitals plunged 2 per cent each. SBI, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, JSW Steel and Bajaj Finserv were also among top laggards, adding to the weakness of the markets.
The sell-off in US markets yesterday was triggered by a crash of 60 per cent in SVB Financials. This impacted sentiments and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults. This is a US-specific issue and will not have an impact on Indian banking stocks, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
“US jobs report will be crucial in influencing the Fed’s policy response and the market direction. If the jobs data show declining jobs growth, the Fed will not be as aggressive as the market fears and equity markets will remain resilient. So, investors may wait for this near-term uncertainty to pass,” he said.
In the broader markets, Patel Engineering plunged 12 per cent, whereas Equitas Small Finance Bank was down 11 per cent. Automotive Axles, Kiri Industries, Craftsman Auto shed up to 5 per cent. Shilpa Medicare saw some profit booking after a two-day rally.
Among the gainers, Deep Polymers soared about 17 per cent, whereas Sequent Scientific extended its gains over acquisition buzz. JBM Auto and Swan Energy jumped about 7 per cent each.
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