Title: “Indian Stock Markets Witness Sharp Decline Amidst Profit Booking and Global Cautiousness”
Mumbai, Jan 23: The Indian stock markets opened on a positive note on Tuesday but quickly turned negative, experiencing significant sell-offs driven by profit booking. Nifty recorded a notable plunge of 333 points (-1.5%), closing at 21,239 levels, while Sensex saw a decline of 1,000 points (-1.47%) to close at 70,370, as reported by Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The broader market faced a more substantial downturn, with Midcap100 and Smallcap100 both witnessing a 3% drop. The Pharma sector stood as the exception, gaining 1.7%. However, other sectors, particularly Media, faced considerable selling pressure, with a significant 13% dip attributed to the Zee-Sony deal being called off.
Nifty Realty also took a hit, falling by 5.3% following weak results from Oberoi Realty. Profit booking was observed in sectors like PSU Banks, Railways, and Power Utilities, which had seen a sharp run-up in the recent past.
Global sentiments turned cautious after the Fitch Group’s statement that South Asian economies would be most affected amid rising hostilities in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks. India’s economic forecast was deemed to face significant risk due to a prolonged spell of disruptions.
Furthermore, the Bank of Japan, following China, decided to keep interest rates unchanged. Investors are now awaiting US GDP data scheduled for late Tuesday, along with the ECB rate decision later this week.
In the domestic market, with just three trading days in the truncated week, weak global cues and a mixed set of earnings reports suggest that the market may consolidate and experience a further slight drop until the next set of positive triggers emerges, according to Khemka.
