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The equity benchmarks shed over one and a half per cent in the trading session on Monday, impacted measurably by the global cues, weakness in the Indian rupee, and detection of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in India.The Nifty 50 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday ended at 23,616.05, down over 388 points, and the BSE Sensex at 77,964.99, declining over 1,258 points.The indices of all the sectors at NSE remained heavily in the red territory, with PSU Banks trailing about 4 per cent. On BSE, midcap and smallcap indices were down 2-3 per cent.
Experts believe fears and concerns over the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak in India, with two reported cases in Karnataka, have led to market jitters."Monday blues hit the Indian markets due to some continuing issues and fragile sentiment due to the emergence of HMPV cases in India. The continuing issues are the slowing Indian economy, the muted corporate earnings growth, the FPI selling in the secondary markets, and the global pressure due to the strong US dollar and high US yields," stated Ajay Bagga, market and banking expert.Vijay Chopra, a market expert, shares similar insights, adding that markets are spooking because of the fear of the HMP Virus."The markets are seeing a dip due to the virus scare. The health advisories put out by various state governments have spooked investors. Retail investors who are new to markets are wary of the market," said Shriram Subramanian, founder and MD, InGovern Research Services. In addition to the HMPV fear the Indian Rupee's depreciation against the US dollar has also weighed on investor sentiments.Uncertainty surrounding US President-elect Donald Trump's trade policies, including potential tariffs on Chinese goods, has also added to market nervousness.In addition to these, continued selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) with a net outflow of Rs 4,227.25 crore on January 3, contributed to the market downturn.Other reasons for market fall include weak global market cues, weakness in European and Asian markets, dampened US rate cut expectations, comments from US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggesting that interest rate cuts may not be imminent and profit booking and valuation concerns. Investors have been taking profits due to concerns over stretched valuations in the midcap and smallcap space.The major losers on NSE were Apollo Hospital, Titan, Tata Consumers, HCL, and Dr Reddy, while Tata Steel, Trent, NTPC, BPCL, and Coal India were the top losers.Experts noted that the earnings season this week may give some movement, but expectations are low because of muted earnings like in Q2. The main attraction for the markets will be Trump's policy decisions and then the Union Budget. (ANI)
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