DSIJ Mindshare

On Tuesday, benchmark indices opened lower but recovered in the first half of the trading session. Towards the end of the trading session, Sensex was down 153.13 points or 0.29 per cent at 52,693.57 level, and the Nifty was down 42.30 points or 0.27 per cent at the 15,732.10 level.

The markets crashed with full force at the beginning of the week while the key equity indices fell below their crucial levels, experiencing heavy selling pressure. The global markets corrected due to worries over upcoming policy rate hikes and cuts to the central bank’s balance sheet.  

The benchmark indices denied having a cheerful weekend and witnessed a steep fall with Sensex dipping over 1,000 points. Taking cues from losses in global peers, BSE Sensex plunged 1,114 points intraday before settling at 54,303, down by 1,017 points or 1.84 per cent. Meanwhile, Nifty 50 held the 16,200-mark to settle at the 16,202 level, sinking 276 points or 1.68 per cent. 

The equity markets cheered as benchmark indices broke the four-day losing streak supported by strength in oil & gas, financial, IT and pharma shares. However, weakness in metal shares capped the upside gains. Sensex ended 427.79 points higher at 55,320.28 level while Nifty zoomed 121.85 points to end at 16,478.10 level.

On Wednesday, the benchmark indices remained under pressure post the repo rate hike. RBI hiked the key policy repo rate by 50 bps to 4.90 per cent whereas the markets were relieved, as there was no CRR hike. The repo rate hike by RBI is likely to impact the home loan borrowers, both the existing as well as the new ones. While the hike is positive for the banks and the NBFCs, it is likely to be a burden for the borrowers.