HomeMarket NewsNifty retests 17,000; Sensex plunges 800 points; Infosys, HCL lend support

Nifty retests 17,000; Sensex plunges 800 points; Infosys, HCL lend support

Market update: The Sensex and Nifty suffered sharp losses on Friday amid weakness across global markets. The 50-scrip index slid below the 17,000 mark for the first time since December 7. IT shares bucked the overall negative trend after Accenture posted a strong set of earnings and updraded its guidance.

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By Yashi Gupta  December 17, 2021, 1:53:51 PM IST (Updated)

Nifty retests 17,000; Sensex plunges 800 points; Infosys, HCL lend support
It was a yet another Black Friday on Dalal Street. Indian equity benchmarks tumbled more than 1.5 percent as warnings over surging inflation from major central banks including the Federal Reserve
and the Bank of England
spooked investors, triggering a sell-off.

The Nifty tumbled as much as 256.4 points to 16,992.1 during the session, sliding below the 17,000 mark for the first time since December 7. The 30-scrip Sensex gauge lost 851.2 points to 57,050.

Both indices pared their losses helped by the IT sector, which continued to hold the fort against the market-wide selloff. IT shares rose after Accenture reported strong quarterly numbers and upgraded its guidance.

At 1:45 pm, the Sensex was down 574.9 points or one percent at 57,326.2 and the Nifty50 at 17,068.1, down 180.3 points or 1.1 percent from its previous close.

Among the blue-chip stocks, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, and Adani Ports, down about 3-4 percent, were the biggest drags on benchmark indices. Forty five stocks in the Nifty50 pack succumbed to negative territory. The five gainers were: Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Hindalco, and JSW Steel.

Broad indices also bore the brunt of the sell-off, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices down nearly two percent each.

Among NSE's sectoral indices, the Nifty Media was the worst hit, plunging over four percent. Investors sold banking and auto stocks as well. The Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, Auto Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices were down more than two percent each.

Global markets extend losses

European shares began the day on a negative note, following their Asian counterparts. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2 percent in early hours. The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes slipped to as low as 1.412 percent.

S&P 500 futures, however, were up 0.1 percent, suggesting a mildly positive start ahead on Wall Street.

Earlier on Friday, equities in other Asian markets tested 13-month lows as hawkish pivots by major central banks, and concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and inflation had investors worried. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell nearly one percent.

Reasons for global sell-off

  • Britain's central bank on Thursday raised interest rates since the beginning of the pandemic and became the first central bank of an advanced economy to do so after the US central bank signalled raging inflation was a big risk. The Fed also announced hiking interest rates thrice in 2022. Even the Bank of Japan on Friday announced dialling back pandemic funding, though it maintained an ultra-loose policy.

  • Meanwhile, rising cases of the Omicron hammered the markets as well. Richard Harris of Port Shelter Investment Management told CNBC-TV18 that the market may use COVID as an excuse for correction given the sharply increasing cases.

  • Foreign institutional investors have sold shares worth Rs 12,986 crore ($1.7 billion) so far this month, provisional exchange data showed.


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(with inputs from agencies)
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