Sensex tanks 1507 pts on weak global signals

The domestic equity benchmarks declined further in afternoon trade amid weak global cues. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the red. Banks, metals and realty shares witnessed major selling pressure.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 1506.75 points or 2.64% at 55,504.99. The Nifty 50 index lost 472.55 points or 2.78% at 16,512.65.

Bajaj Finance (down 5.72%), Tata Motors (down 5.61%), IndusInd Bank (down 5.53%), Tata Steel (down 5.35%), SBI (down 5.06%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 5.02%) were major index losers.

Drug major Cipla rose 2.25%. The drug major announced that it has received final approval for its Lanreotide injection, from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). It is indicated for the treatment of patients with Acromegaly and Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (GEP-NETs).

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 4.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index skid 3.94%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 581 shares rose and 2813 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

The US Dow Jones futures were down 471 points, indicating a weak opening in US stock market today.

The sentiment was affected by the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant in most parts of Europe. Traders worried that fresh round of lockdowns could hurt the economic recovery prospects.

Unabated selling by FIIs in India, concerns about the rising inflation and hawkish tone by the world's major central banks also triggered selling pressure.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks tumbled on Monday as the rapid spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant triggers stricter containment measures across the European continent.

In Europe, the Netherlands went into lockdown from Sunday till at least January 14 amid fears that its healthcare system "will become overburdened in January." Elsewhere, Britain has also been seeing a surge in covid infections.

China on Monday announced a cut in its one-year loan prime rate from 3.85% to 3.8% the first such move since April 2020.

Wall Street finished lower on Friday, weighed down by Big Tech as investors worried about the omicron coronavirus variant and digested the Federal Reserve's policy decision.

The US central bank on 15 December announced that it would put an end to its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and would raise the interest rates thrice in the upcoming year to battle growing inflation.

The Bank of England on 16 December raised interest rates and warned inflation was likely to hit 6% in April - three times its target level. The BoE cut its growth forecasts for December and the first quarter of 2022 because of the spread of Omicron.

However, the Bank of Japan on 17 December maintained its target for short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% and said it would continue guiding the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds to around zero.

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