MUMBAI
: The surge in the number of coronavirus infections in China after the government relaxed its Covid-Zero policy is worrying Dalal Street investors. There are also concerns about new variants of the virus which could escape the vaccine wall. As a result, the sensex on Tuesday fell more than 600 points in intraday trade but late buying helped it close just 104 points lower at 61,702.
According to Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, domestic sentiments were dented in line with global peers after Bank of Japan in a surprise move raised interest rate by 25 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) to 0.5%. Further, rising death cases in China after easing of Covid restrictions instilled more fear (among investors),” Khemka said.
The markets opened lower and saw selling pressure for most part of the session but recovered in the late session. The day’s late turnaround came on the back of foreign fund buying, market players said. BSE data showed that foreign portfolio investors were net buyers at Rs 456 crore, while domestic institutions too were net buyers at Rs 495 crore.
In addition to the fears about spread of Covid in China and hawkish stance by most major central banks around the globe, the looming recessionary fears in some of the large economies is fading hopes of a Santa Claus rally, market players said. “Market is expected to consolidate with focus shifting towards Budget-oriented sectors,” Khemka said.