India’s equity benchmark fell sharply on Tuesday reflecting losses in global markets after the CEO of drugmaker Moderna issued fresh alarm bells in financial markets on Wednesday. Tuesday after he warned that the COVID-19 vaccines were not as effective against the Omicron variant as they were against the Delta Version. . The Sensex is down more than 1,250 points from its intraday high, and the Nifty 50 index dipped below 17,000 after hitting a peak of 17,324. Meanwhile, investors await gross domestic product data that is expected to show the country’s economic recovery underpinning in the second quarter.
The Sensex fell 196 points to close at 57,065 and the Nifty 50 index fell 71 points to close at 16,983.
Crude oil futures fell more than a dollar, the Australian currency hit a one-year low, and Nikkei gave up gains as Stephane Bancel’s comments raised concerns that vaccine resistance could lead to more diseases and hospitalization, prolonging the pandemic.
Uncertainty over the new variant has sparked global alarm, with border closures casting a shadow over the nascent economic recovery from the two-year pandemic.
Back home, economists expect data arriving at 5:30 p.m. to show growth of 8.4% year-on-year in the July-September period, according to a Reuters poll last week, a brisk pace. among the major economies, compared with a 7.5 percent decline in the same quarter last year.
Eleven of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty Metals index falling more than 2%. Indices of Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Media, Auto and Financial Services also fell 0.7-1%.
On the other hand, consumer goods, IT and FMCG stocks saw buying interest.
Mid- and small-cap stocks outperformed larger stocks as the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.3% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 1.4%.
Go Fashion stock had an impressive stock market debut on Tuesday. Shares opened for trading at Rs 1,310 on the National Stock Exchange, up 90% from the issue price of Rs 690 per share. On the BSE, Go Fashion shares opened at Rs 1,316, up 91% from the IPO price.
Tata Steel was Nifty with the biggest drop, shares down 4% to close at Rs 1,070. Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, Reliance Industries and Coal India also fell by 1.6-3.1%.
On the other hand, Power Grid, Shree Cements, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Tata Consumer Products, SBI Life, Infosys, Wipro, Bajaj Finance and TCS were among the gainers.
Overall market breadth was positive as 1,779 shares advanced while 1,471 shares closed lower on the BSE.
