Stock Market: Fed fear grips bourses; bears clobber Bajaj twins

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By S Jha

New Delhi, January 5: Bears took firm control of the bourses as the stock market indices tanked on Thursday, only to recover solely on account of the weekly expiry covering of the positions. Dow Jones, the global trendsetter for equity markets, too tanked by over one per cent after the job data showed that the US not only added new employments but at higher wages also.

The US Fed, most dreaded by the bulls globally, is not expected not to do course correction and stay raising the rates. The job data along with the higher wages in the US confirmed the worst fears of the traders that the battle against inflation is still an unfinished agenda. This may give strength to the bears, who have strongly taken control of the bourses.

The Indian indices tanked on Thursday, tracking the global cues. It became worse after the Bajaj Finance numbers stunned the market participants. The non-banking finance behemoth reported subdued growth in its portfolio, quarter to quarter, which is an indicative of the stress in the consumer demands. Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Financial Services went into a freefall on Thursday. The global fund houses are extremely bearish on Bajaj Finance, with sell recommendations, arguing that the high valuations are not justified.

Following in the footsteps of Bajaj financial companies, ICICI bank too cracked on Thursday. The chartists have been warning that ICICI Bank, the star stock of 2021, has turned bearish. The Bank Nifty was hit hard by the bears as at one time it lost over 600 points.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued on selling spree, dumping Indian equities worth Rs 1449 crores. Their domestic counterparts also ended on the sell side, with a net sale of Rs 194 crores.

While the indices tanked, the metal stocks were strong in the day, with JSW Steel leading the pack. Infosys will come out with its quarterly results later this month, which may set the momentum for the market. There also appears no signs of pre-Budget rally on the bourses, with traders betting on a populist proposals due to a heavy election calendar this year.