Mumbai: Markets opened in deep red on Thursday with the benchmark BSE Sensex down 1,030 points to slip below the key 34,000-mark in early trade, tracking a global sell-off as the rupee hit yet another record low of 74.45 against the US dollar.
Traders attributed the carnage in domestic bourses to the sell-off in international bourses after US stocks tumbled on heavy correction in tech stocks, fresh concerns over Fed rate hike and looming impact of the US’ trade war with the China.
Rising 10-year US treasury bonds, jumping above 3 per cent last week and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashing its global growth forecast and weakness in emerging markets, too spooked investors.
The 30-share BSE Sensex, which had gained 461.42 points Wednesday, slipped below the 34,000-mark by crashing 1,030.40 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 33,730.49 in opening trade. The broader Nifty slipped below the 10,200-mark by tumbling 281.70 points, or 2.69 per cent, to 10,178.70.
Widespread selling pulled down all sectoral indices led by realty, IT, metal and banking, that fell up to 3.66 per cent.
Top laggards include SBI, Tata Steel, Infosys, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Yes Bank, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, TCS, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Wipro, Tata Motors, ITC, Coal India, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Sun Pharma IndusInd Bank and M&M, dropping up to 3.99 per cent
In the forex market, the rupee slumped by 24 paise to an all-time low of 74.45 against the dollar due to heavy demand for the US currency from importers.
Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net of Rs 1,096 crore Wednesday, provisional data showed.
Other Asian markets also plunged on Thursday morning following the worst session on Wall Street for months, further aggravated by US President Donald Trump’s “the Federal Reserve has gone crazy” remarks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite all plummeted more than three percent in early morning trade, as investors fretted about surging interest rates and an ongoing trade war.
The steep drop in Asia followed a decline on Wall Street of nearly 830 points, the biggest fall since February, amid Trump’s latest criticism of the Federal Reserve, the US central bank. “I think the Fed is making a mistake. It’s so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy,” Trump told reporters as he arrived for a campaign rally ahead of the US mid-term elections.