Stock Market Falls After IMF Cuts Economic Growth Estimates

Stock market falls after the International Monetary Fund cuts economic growth estimates. Amid weak signals from the global markets.

The major stock index Sensex fell over 200 points in early trade on Wednesday and witnessed major selling in stocks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and ITC.

The 30-share BSE index was down 214.94 points or 0.53 percent at 40,410.57 during this period. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty fell 77.05 points or 0.65 percent to 11,857.45.

The Indian stock market declined on Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut economic growth estimates for the second time in nearly four months in the country. The International Monetary Fund has predicted a steep contraction of 10.3 percent in the Indian economy this year.

At the same time, the global economy is expected to move forward with a decline of 4.4 percent this year and a rapid growth of 5.2 percent in 2021. According to the IMF, in 2021, the Indian economy will probably register a strong growth of 8.8 percent.

Meanwhile, global market sentiment has been affected after J&J stopped COVID-19 vaccine trials, however, stopping trials is a normal process.

On the other hand, ONGC fell the most by three percent in the Sensex. Apart from this, NTPC, PowerGrid, UltraTech Cement, ITC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC were also trading in red marks. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, and Bajaj Auto saw a boom.

The Sensex had gained 31.71 points or 0.08 percent to close at 40,625.51 points in the previous session, while the NSE Nifty rose 3.55 points or 0.03 percent to 11,934.50 points.

According to the stock market data, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 832.14 crore on a gross basis on Tuesday.

In the absence of any major economic data or signal, the rupee was trading in a narrow range during early trading on Wednesday and was trading at 73.33 levels, up by two paise against the US dollar.

The interbank foreign exchange market rupee was trading in a limited range. The Indian currency opened at 73.39 against the US dollar, and rose sharply to 73.33, two paise higher than the previous closing price. The rupee had closed at 73.35 against the dollar on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the worldwide market saw a decline. The US market Dow Jones was down 157.71 points at 28,679.80. At the same time, Nasdaq also lost 5 points to close at 12083.20 points. The S&P 500 index was down 22.29 points at 3,511.93.