Closing Bell: COVID Situation And Negative Global Cues Stomp The Share Market Down

Stock market closes in deep red.

Closing Bell: Domestic equities witnessed free fall as surge in covid cases around the globe has spooked investors. Nifty opened gap down and headed southwards below 18k zones. Broader market saw sharp decline with Nifty midcap 100 down 4% while Nifty smallcap 100 down 5%.

Benchmark indices ended lower for the fourth consecutive session on 23 December 2022. All the sectoral indices ended in the red. Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel and Tata Motors were among the biggest Nifty losers.

The Government of India is proposing to offer up to 40 lakh equity shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation to the eligible employees at a price of Rs 680 per equity share.

Indian rupee closed 10 paise lower at 82.86 per dollar on Friday against previous close of 82.76.

Also read: SGX Nifty Signals A Negative Start

Closing Bell: Sensex was down 980.93 points or 1.61% at 59,845.29. The Nifty was down 320.50 points or 1.77% at 17,806.80. About 468 shares have advanced, 3018 shares declined, and 61 shares are unchanged.

The US markets reversed their positive trend and closed with losses. Rising fears of economic recession and the US Federal Reserve continuing to increase interest rates to battle inflation dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq lower by more than 2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 lost more than 1% each.

Asian equities resumed declines on 23 December 2022 amid a downbeat tone after the slump in US tech stocks and data that validated the case for hiking rates. The SGX Nifty, KOSPI, Taiwan Weighted and Nikkei 225 fell more than 1% each.

The Bank of Japan had given a clear message that it will continue to keep interest rates elevated to combat inflation.

Monetary tightening will likely continue with core inflation remaining sticky in most economies. It increases the probability of large economies falling into a recession and experts see diminishing chances of a soft landing for the US economy. This will aggravate the problems of financial markets.

The markets are getting spooked by rising COVID cases and increasing number of deaths in China, which might push its economy further on the backfoot. The Omicron variant cases found in India and advisories issued by the government added fuel to the fire.