Markets tumble on rate hike fears

Equity benchmark Sensex crashed 1,024 points to end below the 58,000-level on Monday as investors fretted over policy tightening by central banks amid elevated inflation. Unabated foreign fund outflows added to the gloom, traders said.

D e c l i n i n g for the third straight sess i o n , t h e 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 1,023.63 points or 1.75 per cent to finish at 57,621.19. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slumped 302.70 points or 1.73 per cent to 17,213.60. The Sensex has now shed 1,937.14 points in three sessions, with the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms plunging by over Rs 5.82 lakh crore during the period.

HDFC Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack in Monday’s session, tumbling 3.65 per cent, followed by L&T, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC, Kotak Bank and Wipro. Only five counters managed to close in the green - PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Steel, SBI and Ultratech Cement, climbing up to 1.88 per cent. “Domestic markets are volatile ahead of the state elections, witnessing a steep fall led by FII selling and weak global cues.

US bourses were under pressure as strong US jobs data gave rise to fears of s h a r p e r than expected Fed rate hikes, resulting in a spike in the bond yields. The volatil - ity in the market is likely to continue due to high chances of interest rate lift-off by the RBI given domestic inflation and policy tightening by global central banks,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Sunday announced postponing the meeting of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by a day in view of Maharashtra declaring a public holiday on February 7 to mourn the death of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.