Fear of sustained aggressive monetary policy by US Fed rattles investors

Both Sensex and Nifty post biggest losses since Sept 26 as Covid cases in China, oil price spike worsen sentiment

Indian equity benchmarks plummeted on Friday amid investor fears that the US macroeconomic data released this week and the upcoming inflation data will bolster the case for the Federal Reserve to extend its aggressive monetary policy.

The Sensex fell 981 points, or 1.6 per cent, to end at 59,845. The Nifty ended at 17,807, down 320 points or 1.7 per cent. For both the indices, Friday's fall was the biggest since September 26.  During the week, the Sensex shed 2.4 per cent, while Nifty lost 2.5 per cent, the worst weekly declines for both since June 17.

The rout in equities so