Benchmark indices saw a drop in early trade on Thursday following an eight-day surge on negative trends in the US equities markets brought on by new recession fears.
The benchmark indices had a negative trend in the morning trade as a result of IT counter losses.
In early trading, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 164.66 points to 60,228.11. The NSE Nifty, a wider index, dropped 44.45 points to 17,767.95.
Among the major laggards among the Sensex companies were Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Steel.
The largest exporter of IT services in the nation, TCS, reported a 14.8% increase in net profit for the March quarter to Rs 11,392 crore, but raised concerns about its important North American market.
Among the winners were Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, State Bank of India, and Maruti.
Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai were trading higher on Asian markets, but Hong Kong quoted down.
On Wednesday, American markets had a lower closing price.
“After the major US indices ended lower overnight, which caused the Asian gauges to trade in a mixed manner, markets may drift lower in early Thursday activity. Although the important economic figures from yesterday, such as the decreasing inflation and increased IIP growth, are encouraging developments, the markets may halt after experiencing a steady uptick over the previous several sessions.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, stated in his pre-market opening quote: “Furthermore, recession concerns grew when the US FOMC minutes showed that Fed anticipates banking turbulence to produce a recession, while reigniting inflation fears are a surge in oil prices to USD 83 a barrel.”
According to government data released on Wednesday, retail inflation in March dipped to a 15-month low of 5.66 percent before rising back to the Central Bank’s target level of 6 percent.
According to official data issued on Wednesday, India’s industrial production growth increased slightly to 5.6% in February from 5.5% in January 2023, primarily because the manufacturing, mining, and power sectors performed well.
The benchmark Brent crude price fell to USD 87.14 per barrel in the meanwhile, down 0.23%.
“After officials at the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting agreed that the stress in the banking industry will hamper US economic growth, US stocks finished lower on Wednesday in tumultuous trading.
“Investors also considered the March consumer price index report, which shows slowing but persistently high inflation. According to the minutes, Fed staff forecast that the economy may experience a minor recession later this year before recovering over the following two years “the head of retail research at HDFC Securities, Deepak Jasani.
According to exchange data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) extended their buying trend on Wednesday by purchasing additional shares of stock worth Rs 1,907.95 crore.
