E-Paper
Nifty tanks 1%, Sensex falls 224 pts as investors spooked by political uncertainties in the US
Wipro was up 3.5%, TCS 3.4%, Infosys 1% as dollar falls to six-month low. Lupin gains 0.6% and Sun Pharma 0.5%.
Global markets were rattled and the dollar fell sharply on Thursday over political uncertainties in the United States after reports President Donald Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation on a possible link between his election campaign and Russia.
Indian share benchmarks fell as investors booked profits and as Asian and European markets tumbled.
The NSE index Nifty fell more than 1% to close at 9,429.45, posting its biggest fall since January 20. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed down 0.7% at 30,434.79, its biggest fall since May 5, according to Reuters.
Both Sensex and Nifty were in a record-breaking spree in each of the previous three sessions.
Software and pharma exporters gained as the dollar fell to six-month lows. Among the IT bell weathers, Wipro was up 3.5%, TCS 3.4%, Infosys 1%. Lupin gained 0.6% and Sun Pharma 0.5%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.3% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6%, Korea’s Kospi 0.3% and China’s Shanghai 0.45%.
All the European indices were in the red in intra-day trade.
The dollar hit six-month lows, while Wall Street posted the biggest intra-day slide since September, as pressure mounted on Trump with the U.S. Justice Department appointing former FBI chief Robert Mueller to probe a possible collusion between his election campaign and Moscow.
But analysts said the fall could be a temporary consolidation after both the key indexes hit record highs earlier this week.
“However, there is nothing to panic about; the markets are more active now than, say, they were a fortnight ago. Investors who stuck to the sidelines are likely to re-enter the markets looking for a bargain hunt,” said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
“After (Nifty) hitting 9,500 levels, there could be a short consolidation phase.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
