MARKET OVERVIEW :

Currency Market Overview January 17, 2024

Nifty 50 drops nearly 1.5%, Sensex tumbles 1,000 pts at open: 5 key reasons why Indian stock market is falling

Massive Selloff: Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services index shed over 2.5% as HDFC Bank tanks post Q3 Sensex tanked more than 1,100 points at open, while the Nifty began trading 395 points lower below 21,650. All the sectoral indices traded in the red with banking stocks bleeding the most weighed down by HDFC Bank Q3 results. Stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, witnessed a sharp fall dragged by across the board selling amid weak global cues. Stock market today: The Indian stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, witnessed a sharp fall in the opening trade on Wednesday dragged by across the board selling amid weak global cues.

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The benchmark Sensex tanked more than 1,100 points at open, while the Nifty began trading 395 points lower below 21,650. All the sectoral indices traded in the red with banking stocks bleeding the most weighed down by HDFC Bank Q3 results. Broader markets, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices were also trading sharply lower. Here are some key reasons behind the stock market fall today:

Bank stock losses weigh

Heavy selling in banking stocks weighed on overall markets with HDFC Bank share price cracking more than 6% after reporting December quarter earnings. This led Nifty Bank to drop over 2.5%.

Profit booking on valuation concerns

After a sharp rally in the markets with Nifty 50 scaling above 22,100 in the previous session, investors likely opted to take some profit out of the table, analysts said. Meanwhile, concerns over stretched valuations in the midcap and smallcap space also triggered selling. An analyst says, “Domestically, even though the economy is doing well and corporate earnings are good, all these positives are in the price and the valuations are elevated warranting a correction. The mid and small cap space is highly overvalued and is sustaining at high levels only by the high liquidity in the system. Some profit booking and moving the money to fixed income can be considered now,” Weak global market cues Weak global market cues also dragged domestic indices lower.

Asian markets traded in the red, while US stock market indices ended lower overnight as bond yields rose. US Treasury yields rose on Tuesday after central bankers in Europe and the United States pushed back against market expectations of imminent interest rate cuts. The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note increased by over 11 bps to 4.064%, weighing on risky assets. “Market is likely to turn slightly weak in the near-term, getting impacted by some negative global and domestic cues. The global negativity will come from the rising bond yields in the US responding to concerns that the sharp rate cuts expected from the Fed this year may not materialise. Now indications are that the Fed is unlikely to cut in March and the total cuts in 2024 may not be five or six that the market had partly discounted. This will be a drag on global equity markets,” Analyst.

Dampened US rate cut expectations

The expectations for interest rate cut in March in the US were dampened following the remarks of US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. The US is “within striking distance” of the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation goal, but the central bank should not rush to cut its benchmark interest rate until it is clear lower inflation will be sustained, Fed Governor Waller said. And regardless of when rate cuts begin, Waller said the central bank should proceed “methodically and carefully,” not make the sort of large, fast reductions used when the Fed is trying to bail out the economy from a shock or a pending downturn, Reuters reported.

Technical View

On January 16, Nifty 50 index formed a spinning top candlestick pattern on the daily chart with a probability of a bearish divergence. “For the time being, the level of 22,120 will act as resistance while the immediate support is placed at 21,930 and the next strong support is positioned at 21,800,” said Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares. He believes the higher side for Bank Nifty seems to be capped at 48,300 while on the downside strong support comes at 47,560.

HDFC Bank share price cracks 7% after Q3 results; what should

HDFC Bank share price cracked almost 7 per cent in morning trade on Wednesday, a day after Q3 results, even as most brokerage firms retained positive views on the stock. HDFC Bank share price cracked almost 7 per cent in early trade on BSE on Wednesday, January 17, a day after the company reported its December quarter results. HDFC Bank share price opened at ₹1,583.85 against its previous close of ₹1,678.95 and soon cracked 6.5 per cent to hit the level of ₹1,570. Around 9:30 am, HDFC Bank shares traded 6.07 per cent lower at ₹1,577 on the BSE. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank’s US-listed shares fell 6.71 per cent on NYSE after the Q3 results.