Indian domestic equities experienced a significant drop of 2% on Wednesday due to a weak global environment and a sell-off in HDFC Bank. Investor sentiment was further impacted by hawkish commentary from the US Federal Reserve, escalating tensions in the Middle East, and a spike in bond yields.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal has stated that the market would closely watch quarterly results for specific stock actions and anticipated that the indices would consolidate after the sharp sell-off.
Technical analysis suggests that selling near the resistance zone of 21800-21820 would be an ideal strategy during this market fall, said an ET report. On the downside, the index is expected to target levels of 21167, which is the 40-day moving average.
In the US, Wall Street stocks finished lower on Wednesday following better-than-expected retail sales data for December. This data reduced expectations of an early rate-cut by the US Federal Reserve.
Asian equities opened mixed on Thursday, influenced by the decline in US stocks and Treasuries due to the strong retail sales data. S&P 500 futures remained unchanged, Hang Seng futures rose 0.2%, Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.2%, Japan’s Topix rose 0.2%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6%, and Euro Stoxx 50 futures were unchanged.
The dollar held close to a one-month peak against major peers on Thursday, supported by robust US retail sales data and expectations that the Federal Reserve will not rush to lower interest rates.
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday due to OPEC’s forecast of relatively strong global oil demand over the next two years and disruptions in oil production caused by a cold blast in the US.
Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers at Rs 10,578 crore on Wednesday, while DIIs bought shares worth Rs 4,006 crore.