The domestic equity barometers trimmed losses in mid afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading near the 16,600 mark after hitting the day's low of 16,410.20 in early afternoon trade. Realty shares declined for the sixth day in row.
At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 1324.9 points or 2.32% to 55,686.84. The Nifty 50 index was down 411.70 points or 2.42% to 16,573.50.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 3.63% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 3.40%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 639 shares rose and 2782 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.
The sentiment was affected by the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant in most parts of Europe. Traders worried that fresh round of lockdowns could hurt the economic recovery prospects.
Unabated selling by FIIs in India, concerns about the rising inflation and hawkish tone by the world's major central banks also added to selling pressure.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.447% as compared with 6.411% at close in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.8450, compared with its close of 76.0675 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement shed 0.31% to Rs 48,444.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was trading flat at 96.56.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement fell $2.59 or 3.52% to $70.93 a barrel.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Realty index slumped 5.62% to 449.20, extending decline for sixth day in a row. The stock has lost 13.52% in six sessions.
Macrotech Developers (down 7.90%), DLF (down 6.13%), Oberoi Realty (down 5.49%), Sunteck Realty (down 4.71%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 5.09%), Godrej Properties (down 4.97%), Brigade Enterprises (down 4.78%), Sobha Developers (down 4.29%), Prestige Estates (down 3.78%) and The Phoenix Mills (down 3.22%) declined.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones futures were down 527 points, indicating a weak opening in US stock market today.
Shares in Europe and Asia slumped on Monday, as the rapid spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant triggered stricter containment measures across Europe.
The Netherlands entered full lockdown on Sunday until mid-January, and the possibility of tighter restrictions being imposed over the Christmas holidays and into the new year looms over a number of European countries amid an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.
From Monday, only German citizens, residents and transit passengers will be allowed to enter Germany from the U.K., with all inbound travelers required to quarantine for 14 days irrespective of vaccination status. Travel restrictions were also imposed for arrivals from Denmark, Norway and France. Austria will only allow entry to vaccinated travelers from Monday.
In Asia, China on Monday announced a cut in its one-year loan prime rate from 3.85% to 3.8% - the first such move since April 2020.
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