Sensex declines nearly 400 points in initial trade on weak global markets

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| Photo Credit: PTI

Benchmark indices declined in early trade on February 17 dragged down by IT counters amid an overall weak global market trends. The BSE Sensex declined 397.67 points to 60,921.84 points. The NSE Nifty fell 108.4 points to 17,927.45 points.

Nestle, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and HDFC Bank were among the laggards in the Sensex pack.

UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Asian Paints and Reliance were among the gainers. In Asian markets, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China were trading lower. The U.S. markets had ended sharply lower on February 16.

“There is a clear pattern to the trends from the mother market, U.S. Whenever positive news like declining inflation comes, equity markets rise on hopes of a Fed pause and a possible rate cut by end 2023.”

“Conversely, whenever data indicates a robust U.S. economy, tight labour market and very slow disinflation, equity markets fall expecting the Fed to remain hawkish. This see-saw game is likely to continue till clarity emerges on where the economy is headed,” said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark had eked out marginal gains of 44.42 points or 0.07% to settle at 61,319.51 points on Thursday. The Nifty advanced 20 points or 0.11% to end at 18,035.85 points. International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.78% to $84.48 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers as they bought shares worth ₹1,570.62 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.