The first half of 2023 witnessed a series of noteworthy events in global equity markets. It encompassed a remarkable upswing in tech stocks, driven by the influence of artificial intelligence (AI).

For the first time in two years, the annual rise in consumer prices dropped to below 5 per cent in April, which can allow the Fed to take a break from rate hikes. While the bulk of the bear market may still be ahead of us, the economic downturn has already begun. 

Following weaker-than-anticipated earnings from two major US banks, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, the major Wall Street indices fell on Thursday.  

A long-awaited report on US inflation turned out to be even worse than expected, fuelling speculation that Federal Reserve will tighten interest rates even further.  

With recession fear looming over most of the global economies, a high inflation reading would further add pressure on the Federal Reserve to step up its already aggressive pace of interest rate hikes 

The shares of telecom, realty & autos were in demand while IT, Teck, and FMCG stocks dragged the market down.

In particular, the European markets saw a fall due to the possibility of a ban on importing crude oil and natural gas from Russia

The markets opened lower amid weaker global cues on Monday. The Sensex was at 57,420.23, down by 412.74 points or 0.71 per cent, whereas Nifty was at 17,360.34, down by 0.87 per cent or 152.73 points.