Sensex Falls Over 470 Points And Nifty Down Near 17,000 As Growth Concerns Weigh

Indian equity indices opened in the red on Monday, tracking a sell-off in Asian equities driven by economic slowdown fears from the anticipated aggressive monetary policy tightening from major central banks, led by the US Federal Reserve.

The BSE Sensex index fell over 470 points to 56,711 and the Nifty 50 index was down at 17,007, extending their losses from last week.

Last week, eight of the top-10 most valued firms based on market capitalisation lost ₹ 2,21,555.61 crore from their valuation, lining up with the weak trend in the broader market, with Infosys and HDFC Bank suffering the biggest hit.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, runaway inflation worries and the expected response by global central banks, especially the Fed has weighed on investor sentiment.

With price stability is the primary mandate for global central banks, expectations for aggressive rate hikes and the resultant slowdown in economic growth has rattled investors.

Also during the global policy tightening phase, investors prefer to shelter in assets considered safe.

Crude oil fell nearly $3 to to below $104 per barrel on demand worries driven by the restrictions in China and economic growth concerns.

Those global cues combined with weaker-than-expected quarterly corporate earnings has not helped Indian stocks.

Indeed, Fears of aggressive Fed rate hikes dent sentiments with foreign investors pulling out nearly ₹ 12,300 crore from Indian equities so far this month.