Equity markets extended their losses on Monday as benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty lost 1.75% each.
The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 1,023.63 points to close at 57,621.19, while the broader 50-share NSE Nifty finished at 17,213.60, after declining 302.70 points from the previous closing mark. Experts said that the plunge was a result of foreign investors pulling out from Indian markets, Mint reported.
All sectoral sub-indices, except for the Nifty PSU Bank index, made losses in Monday’s trading session. The Nifty Financial Services (2.57%), Nifty Private Bank (2.34%) and Nifty FMCG (1.98%) lost the most.
Among individual stocks, only PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Steel, State Bank of India and UltraTech Cement could finish with gains. The stocks of HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Wipro and Kotak Mahindra Bank lost in the range of 2.5% to 3.65%.
“Indian market is witnessing a sharp cut in today’s trading session and this weakness can be attributed to heavy selling by FIIs [foreign institutional investors] amid rising US bond yields and [global] crude oil prices,” Santosh Meena, the head of research at financial services firm Swastika Investmart, told the Mint.
The rise in interest rates and bond yields in US markets typically make investments in emerging markets like India less profitable, which encourage investors to pull out their money.
The vice president of investment firm Share India, Ravi Singh, told NDTV that the market sentiments were weak and could lead to further losses on Sensex.
“Investors should avoid taking any fresh positions for the time being till the market sentiments stabilise,” he said.
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