The Indian stock market opened in deep red on Wednesday, with Sensex falling over 700 points and Nifty below 23,400 as rupee's free fall and other factors dampened investor sentiment. According to latest reports, GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,467.50 as of 7:13 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open below Tuesday's closing level of 23,618. The market decline comes amid broader Asian market weakness, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.14% and Nasdaq 100 futures gaining 0.25% as of latest data. The U.S. dollar hovered near a six-week high as investors increasingly priced in higher interest rates to combat inflationary pressures from the Iran war.
The Indian rupee weakened to a fresh record low, depreciating as much as 40 paise to 96.93 against the US dollar in early trade, reflecting continued pressure on the domestic currency. According to traders, the rupee is expected to open in the 96.75-96.80 range, having settled at 96.5325 on Tuesday. A selloff across U.S. bond markets has accelerated over the past week on stalled U.S.-Iran talks, fuelling worries that oil prices will remain high for longer than anticipated. As per a currency trader at a bank, "The rupee, having largely adjusted to the prospect of persistently high oil prices, now faces a repricing due to the sizeable shift in U.S. rates." The 30-year U.S. treasury yields rose to their highest levels since July 2007, adding to global market volatility.
Nifty Bank traded 0.91% lower at 52,921.80 in early trade, with the index moving between an intraday high of 53,020.50 and a low of 52,836.10. All other sectoral indices traded lower, led by Nifty Media down 1.97% and Realty down 1.67%, while Auto, PSU Bank, Consumption and Metal indices also saw declines of over 1%. However, Nifty Pharma rose 0.29% and Nifty IT edged up 0.03%, providing some support to the broader market. The sharp fall reflects continued pressure on the domestic currency in early trade, with technical indicators pointing to a weak setup for the session.
Several companies are set to declare their Q4 results today, which will remain in focus for investors amid the challenging market conditions. As reported by Live Mint, these include Lenskart, Grasim Industries, Apollo Hospitals, Ola Electric, and Metro Brands. The quarterly results will provide crucial insights into corporate performance as investors navigate the impact of rising energy prices and currency weakness on market sentiment.
Foreign investors turned sellers in the cash market after three sessions, with short positions unchanged at 88%, adding to the ongoing selling pressure. They have offloaded $23 billion worth of shares so far this year, already surpassing the record annual outflow seen last year. The Iran war, which began in late February, has pushed energy prices higher and rattled investors globally, with oil-importing countries such as India witnessing aggressive foreign selling due to concerns over the impact of high oil prices on the economy and inflation.
JSW Energy announced it will increase its stake in Toshiba JSW Power Systems from 10.7% to 20.7% by acquiring shares from Toshiba Corp through a secondary share purchase transaction worth ₹150 crore. Additionally, Maruti Suzuki has commenced commercial production at the second unit of its Kharkhoda manufacturing plant in Haryana, effective May 18. The company's 1980 MW Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project continues to play a significant role in meeting Bihar's growing energy demand, with total installed capacity rising to 4360 MW after completion of stage-II expansion.
