Recession fears hit global mkts; Sensex drops 1,046 pts, Nifty below 15,400

CLOSING BELL: The S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices hit fresh 52-week lows as they spiraled 2 per cent down

MARKET LIVE: Sensex down 1,000pts, Nifty tests 15,350; Metals, Realty bleed

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: A relief rally in the markets quickly evaporated as investors read through the fine print of the US Federal Reserve's policy statement.

Worries that the Fed's 75 basis point rate hike, the highest increase since 1994, meant that war against inflation was just getting started, hurt sentiment. Besides, the nearly 100-percentage point downward revision in economic growth forecast for 2022 hinted at "mild recession", said economists.

ALSO READ: The five bearish forecasts from UBS

Against this backdrop, the frontline indices hit fresh 52-week lows as they spiraled 2 per cent down. The S&P BSE Sensex plunged 1,646 points from the day's high to end at 51,496, down 1,046 points from Wednesday's close. It hit a low of 51,434 during the day.

The Nifty50 index hit a low of 15,344 during the day, before recovering marginally to close at 15,361, down 332 points. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined up to 2.87 per cent.

ALSO READ: UBS expects retail flows into equity markets to slow amid rising rates

Cyclical sectors were the worst hit amid fears of a global slowdown with the Nifty Metal index cracking 5 per cent. The Nifty Realty, Auto, Bank, and IT indices fell over 2 per cent each.

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Closing view: Market catching up to reality of tight monetary policy

Market is catching up to the reality that tight monetary policy is the lone card on the table lingering on high inflation.

As a result, the global economy is bound to slow down further impacting corporate earnings, as indicated by MoM fall in US retail sales.

Valuations continue to trade on the marginally upper side of long-term averages and FIIs continue the selling mode.

The stocks trading at high valuations & sectors like IT & Metals are the most impacted firms.

In such a situation, preservation of capital is the theme by investing in a balanced portfolio of equity, debt & cash.

In equities, safe sectors will be those that are least impacted by inflation & aggressive policy like Finance & Services. Defensives like Consumption, IT, Pharma & Telecom can also be considered on a long-term basis.

Views by Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

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