Rising yields, crude spike sink sensex

MUMBAI: Rising global bond yields, a spike in crude oil prices and a weak overnight US market closing took a toll on Dalal Street on Thursday. As investors sold off, sensex closed 1,247 points or 1.7% down at 73,581 points, a more than three-month closing low. Financial stocks, which stand to be hit most by rising yields and hence interest rates, led the slide, along with index heavyweight Reliance Industries. On NSE, Nifty closed 384 points or 1.6% down at 23,063 points.The day’s selling was led by foreign funds, with the net outflow from stocks alone at Rs 5,027 crore, BSE data showed. Domestic funds, on the other hand, were net buyers at Rs 4,301 crore. The slide left investors poorer by about Rs 2.7 lakh crore, with India’s market capitalisation now at Rs 482.3 lakh crore, data from BSE showed.According to Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments, markets came under pressure amid rising bond yields and a rebound in crude oil prices, reflecting heightened global macroeconomic risks. “Investor sentiment turned increasingly risk averse as concerns over the interest rate trajectory intensified, driven by lingering uncertainties around inflation and economic growth. In the absence of fresh positive triggers, near-term sentiment may remain cautious, potentially limiting valuation expansion and making earnings growth likely to become the primary driver of market performance going forward.”Among sensex stocks, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel contributed the most to the index’s loss on Thursday.Of the 30 sensex stocks, 29 closed in the red. In the broader market, however, the advance-decline ratio was not as skewed in favour of the laggards. On BSE, 3,013 stocks closed lower compared to 1,362 that closed higher.