Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 866 pts down, Nifty below 16500; LIC IPO subscribed 1.26 times

Indian benchmark indices continued to reel under selling pressure and ended deep in red, tracking weakness in global markets. The BSE Sensex fell closed 866 points or 1.56% lower at 54,835, while the NSE Nifty 50 shed 271.4 points and settled at 16,366, down 1.63%. In broader markets, BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell 2% each. Sectorally, Among sectors, metal and realty indices fell 3% each and IT index down 2%, however, power index rose 0.5%. Divis Labs, Bajaj Finance, Shree Cements, UPL and Tata Motors were among the top Nifty losers, while gainers were Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid Corp, ITC and ONGC.

Shares of food delivery company Zomato, PB Fintech, which operates online insurance broker PolicyBazaar and loan marketplace PaisaBazaar, and online & offline services provider Info Edge (India) slipped by up to 9 per cent, hitting their respective 52-week lows on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday.

“Central bank actions kept domestic and global markets under pressure this week. In line with global markets, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 index saw profit booking this week and was down by ~4%. Broader indices like BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap also saw meaningful correction. Majority of sectoral indices were down between 3-6%. Sustained high inflation continue to drive monetary tightening measures from Central Banks across different countries. This week markets reacted to interest rate increase by Central Banks like US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and RBI. In an off-cycle meeting, the RBI MPC hiked the repo rate by 40 bps to 4.4% and increased CRR by 50 bps to 4.5%. Amid rising interest rate, elevated crude oil price and high inflation, the markets will likely remain volatile. Further, stock specific action can be expected based on Q4 results and management commentary.”

~Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities

"The Indian equity market has fared significantly better than global markets not just over the past year, but also in the Q4FY22 where we witnessed a sell-off. Presently, there are headwinds for equities as well as bonds in general. Asset-allocation would vary depending upon the age, risk appetite, time-horizon and income /liquidity requirements of an individual. Post the initial risk-off, equity returns hold the scope to accelerate in 2023 and beyond. We suggest investors use periods of volatility to gradually increase allocation to equities to benefit from healthy earnings growth that can unfold over the next two - three years. We expect the equity markets to recover soon after this knee-jerk reaction to the hike in rates and cutting the balance-sheet size."

~Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities

The key benchmark indices continued to reel under selling pressure, tracking weakness in global markets. The BSE Sensex fell over 1,000 points to 54,668, while the NSE Nifty shed 316 points to 16,366.

Domestic equities tanked in intra-day trade as US markets sank overnight on fears of aggressive measures that the Fed may take to curb inflation and subdued earnings. The Nasdaq posted its worst single-day fall since 2020, plunging 5% at close. The Dow Jones lost 3.12 and the S&P 500 fell 3.56%. This was a sharp reversal from a day before when the markets had surged after the US Fed delivered an in-line 50-bps rate hike, assuring that a 75-bps increase was not being actively considered. Tracking this, Asian stocks also tanked on Friday led by Hang Seng index, which slipped 4%.

Banking stocks slipped. Axis Bank has tumbled nearly 4%. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank were the other major losers

"The single important factor roiling global equity markets is the reemergence of inflation as a major threat and market's scepticism over the central banks' ability to contain inflation without triggering a sharp economic slowdown. Nasdaq is at one-year lows and S&P 500 appears to be moving in that direction. India cannot remain uncoupled from this trend particularly when FPIs are on a selling spree and has more fire power to remain bearish. Investors should remain calm in these turbulent times without taking aggressive positions. Calibrated buying on declines in small quantities in high quality stocks with preference for value over growth would be a good investment strategy"

~V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services

The mega LIC IPO has been subscribed 1.06 times so far with policyholders and employeed driving the demand.

"Rather than tracking indices, stock specific approach is more appropriate and this correction provides a good opportunity to enter quality names. Indian economy is in a better shape compared to other nations and is poised to outperform in terms of growth, thus we recommend economy facing sectors like banking, infrastructure, capital goods and housing."

~Parth Nyati, Founder, Tradingo

"We have seen the bloodbath in Indian equity indices after the Bank of England projected inflation over 10% in 2023 and also warned that the UK economy could shrink. Central banks globally have started hiking interest rates in response to high inflation and faltering GDP are the key factors which are dragging the market. A day before yesterday, the US Fed had increased the interest rate by 50 basis points which is the highest in past 22 years and at least two more similar increases are expected. RBI has also increased the interest rate by 40 basis points. We may see further downward movement in the equity market and Nifty may test the support level 15700. At this current situation, one needs to be careful and should wait and assess the situation for few upcoming sessions.

~Rohit Gadia, CIO at CapitalVia Global Research

Sectorally, Nifty consumer durables, realty, IT, auto, financials, and metals were down 2-3%. Remaining sectors also held sharp losses. India VIX also rose 4% to 21 levels, indicating high anxiousness levels among investors.