Monday blues! Heavyweights drag Sensex 400 points lower; Nifty below 23,400
Nifty on Monday morning fell over 100 points while Sensex also lost 400 points with heavyweights HDFC Bank, RIL, and SBI leading the downside.
The weakness was led by selling pressure in banks and metal stocks, while FMCG and consumer durables saw some buying amid sectoral rotation.
«The sectoral churn happening in the market might accelerate since profit booking is happening in some overvalued sectors and money is flowing into fairly valued largecaps.
There is a likelihood of the rupee turning stable with a positive upward bias in the near term on expectations of big debt inflows after the inclusion of India in the Global Bond EM Index later this month. This can act as a trigger for more FII inflows into equity, going forward,» said Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Within the Nifty pack, IndusInd Bank fell around 3% and was the top loser, followed by 2% plus declines in Cipla, Tata Steel, and Adani Ports.
On the other hand, defensives from pharma, FMCG, and IT — Sun Pharma, ITC, Nestle, TCS, and HUL — saw buying.
Besides valuations concerns on the market being at record high levels, investors are also worried about the slow progress of monsoon. Cumulative rainfall as of June 21 was 17% below the long-term average (LTA), while the weekly rainfall (as of June 19) was 33% below average.
«Stalled rainfall across the majority of the country has led to a delay in Kharif sowing; a significant delay in Kharif sowing will impact food output and the Rabi sowing season, as
