Equity benchmark Sensex cracked over 1,000 points to dive below the 77,000 level on Monday (January 13, 2025), tracking heavy selling in global equities and a spike in international crude prices.

A strong US jobs data that dampened early rate cut expectations, the rupee logging its steepest single-day fall in nearly two years and unabated foreign fund outflows also dampened investors’ sentiment.

Falling for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 1,048.90 points or 1.36% to finally settle at 76,330.01. During the day, it plunged 1,129.19 points or 1.45% to 76,249.72.

The NSE Nifty dropped 345.55 points or 1.47% to close at 23,085.95.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato cracked nearly 7%. Power Grid, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and UltraTech Cement were the other major laggards.

In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.

“The global markets witnessed a significant sell-off, prompting a similar response in domestic markets due to strong US payroll data suggesting fewer rate cuts in 2025. This has strengthened the dollar, driven up bond yields, and made emerging markets less attractive. Recent GDP downgrades and slowing earnings amidst higher valuations are weighing heavily on market sentiment,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.

European markets were quoting in the red. US markets ended in the negative territory on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,254.68 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Foreign investors have withdrawn Rs 22,194 crore from Indian equities so far this month.

Earlier in the morning, in continuation of the bearish trend, the stock markets are witnessing sell off and the frontline indices have come under pressure. The Indian rupee has also seen sharp depreciation since the morning against the U.S. Dollar. 

The S&P BSE Sensex after a weak opening fell about 700 points before recovering possibly due to buying by domestic institutions. At the time of writing of this report the Sensex was down 380 points at 77,008 points led by fall in Zomato, M&M, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and Adani Ports.

The NSE Nifty-50 index too was seen at 23,292 level having dropped by 140 points.

The Indian Rupee also plunged sharply by over 32 paisa and was trading at 86.36 to an U.S. Dollar as compared to its previous close of 86.04 at the forex retail spot market. 

According to analysts the market opened week due to sharp declines across global markets, triggered by the anticipation that the U.S. Federal Reserve could delay interest rate cuts. 

“This, combined with ongoing Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) selling and a surge in oil prices to a 4-month high above $81 per barrel, is weighing on sentiment,” said Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.

U.S., European, and Asian markets fell by up to 1.5% after stronger-than-expected US jobs data increased the likelihood of the Fed pausing interest rate cuts. 

Additionally, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped, pushing the U.S. 10-year bond yield to a one-year high of 4.7%, while the US Dollar Index surged to a 14-month high above the $109 level, creating uncertainty around potential rate cuts by the Fed. 

The latest round of US sanctions on Russia’s energy industry also contributed to the rise in oil prices, a concern for India, a major oil importer, Mr Jain said.

On Friday, the domestic market fell by nearly 0.5%, impacted by the persistent FII selling and weak global market conditions.

(with inputs from PTI)