The Indian stock markets saw significant losses on September 6, with the Sensex and Nifty tumbling due to selling pressure across multiple sectors, especially banking and energy stocks. The dip comes ahead of crucial US jobs data, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rate cuts.
At 10:00 AM, the Sensex was down by 561 points (0.7%) at 81,639, while the Nifty dropped 161 points (0.6%) to fall below the 25,000 mark, standing at 24,983. All 13 sectoral indices were in the red, with Nifty PSU Bank leading the decline, falling over 2%, followed by Nifty Energy and Nifty Infra.
Key Decliners:
- SBI fell by 2.5%, making it the worst-hit stock on Nifty 50.
- Other major decliners included Coal India, ONGC, and UltraTech Cement.
Key Gainers:
- LTIMindtree topped the Nifty 50 gainers, rising 1.5% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to ‘overweight’ with a target price of ₹7,050.
- Bajaj Finance, Britannia, Bajaj Finserv, and TCS also posted gains.
Sector-Wise Performance:
- Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Bank, and Nifty PSU Bank dropped 0.7-1.7%.
- Nifty IT initially gained 0.8%, but later pared its gains and fell by 0.2%.
The broader market saw pressure as well, with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, surged over 7% to reach 15.3.
Global Market Influence:
Overnight, US markets also closed lower as investors focused on the upcoming US jobs data. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones both declined, with traders now predicting a 59% chance of a quarter-point rate cut, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.
In the Asia-Pacific region, most markets also declined, with weak economic data from Japan limiting the Bank of Japan’s options for potential rate hikes.
