Indian stock markets on Monday followed the global bloodbath as it experienced one of the worst falls with both the indices Nifty and Sensex registering high losses during the opening trade. While the Nifty 50 index declined 414.85 points or 1.68 per cent to open at 24,302.85 points, the BSE Sensex slumped 2393.76 points or 2.96 per cent to open at 78,588.19 points.
Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Maruti, JSW Steel, and Reliance Industries were the biggest laggards from the Sensex pack. However, Sun Pharma and Hindustan Unilever were trading in positive territory during the opening session.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "The rally in the global stock markets has been driven mainly by consensus expectations of a soft landing for the US economy. This expectation is now under threat with the fall in US job creation in July and the sharp rise in the US unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also are a contributing factor."
As per exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,310 crore on Friday. "Anxiety remains high, especially after Friday's unexpectedly weak US July jobs report, suggesting that volatility will be the hallmark of the day," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
Asian markets tumble, Shanghai quotes higher
On Friday, US markets closed significantly lower. In the Asian markets, Shanghai quoted higher but Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong traded sharply lower. Nikkei 225 share index plunged 8.1% on Monday on heavy selling triggered by worries the US economy may be in worse shape than what it was expected.
Meanwhile, the Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.35 per cent to USD 77.08 a barrel. Amid widespread selling pressure, the BSE benchmark crashed 885.60 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 80,981.95 on Friday. Meanwhile, the broader NSE Nifty dropped 293.20 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 24,717.70.
(With agencies' input)
ALSO READ | Record 7.28 crore Income Tax Returns filed by July 31, marking 7.5 per cent increase: Tax Department
