Market sees slight decline due to low GDP growth estimates
Delhi Delhi. Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally lower on Wednesday in a volatile session as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the earnings session amid lower economic growth estimates.Continued outflows of foreign funds and mixed global market cues also weighed on sentiment.Traders, however, said buying in heavyweights such as TCS and Reliance Industries managed to prevent a sharper fall in the market.The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex closed 50.62 points, or 0.06 per cent, lower at 78,148.49. During the day, it fell 712.32 points, or 0.91 per cent, to hit 77,486.79.The NSE Nifty fell 18.95 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 23,688.95.
“Reduced economic growth estimates and cautiousness ahead of third quarter data increased volatility in the market. However, the market recovered from the day’s low as beaten-down blue-chip stocks rallied and hopes of reforms by the government in the upcoming Budget will boost the sluggish economy. Near-term sentiment is likely to remain weak due to rising US bond yields and expectations of a further rate cut by the Fed,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Among the 30-stock blue-chip pack, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NTPC and State Bank of India were the top losers. Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, ITC, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and Maruti were among the gainers. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,491.46 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai closed in the positive territory, while Tokyo and Hong Kong declined. European markets were trading in the green. US markets closed with a decline on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.79 per cent to $77.66 a barrel. According to government data released on Tuesday, India’s economic growth rate is projected to reach a four-year low of 6.4 per cent in 2024-25, mainly due to poor performance of the manufacturing and services sector.
