Indian shares fell sharply on Thursday, tracking weak global markets after Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, missed on Wall Street earnings estimates and posted a weaker-than-expected forecast.
Shares of Meta dropped by more than 20 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, knocking almost US$200 billion (NZ$295b) off its valuation.
Investors also awaited the ECB and BoE meetings as well as U.S. January employment data, due out Friday, for more clues on the inflation and interest-rate outlook.
Closer home, India’s service sector expanded at the slowest pace in the current six-month sequence of growth amid the escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic, survey results from IHS Markit showed earlier today.
The services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 51.5 in January from 55.5 in December.
The benchmark 30-share S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down 770.31 points, or 1.29 percent, at 58,788.02, snapping a three-day strong budget rally.
The broader NSE Nifty index fell 219.80 points, or 1.24 percent, to 17,560.20, dragged down by financials and technology stocks.
Automakers Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp gained 1-2 percent after the release of better-than-expected sales figures for the month of January.
Market Analysis
Sensex Plunges 770 Points; Nifty Dips Below 17,600
2022-02-03 10:53:54
