New Delhi: Following a week of escalating selling pressure in the wake of the Union Budget announcement, the focus has turned towards the Indian stock market. This scrutiny is particularly significant as the stock markets in the United States, including the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, have reached multi-week lows.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 experienced its most significant one-day decline since December 2022, falling by 2.31 points to 5,427.13. This marked the stock index's worst performance on a single day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq witnessed its first significant one-day percentage drop since October 2022, with the Dow Jones tumbling 1.25 per cent, or 504.22 points, to 39,853.87.
The downturn in the American markets can largely be attributed to investor disappointment regarding the earnings reports of two of the world's largest companies, Alphabet and Tesla, which are both considered major players.
Conversely, the Asian markets began the week at lower levels, following the sell-off in US technology shares and a strengthening of the yen.
Market observers anticipate that the Indian stock market will align with the global market's mood during its trading day on Thursday. Similarly, the Asian markets mirrored Wall Street's losses during their opening session.
Concluding the week, the Indian markets suffered losses, with the Nifty 50 index experiencing a decline of 65 points to 24,413.50, and the BSE Sensex falling by 280 points to 80,148.88.
"The markets will now shift their focus towards the Q1 FY25 earnings reports and global economic indicators," noted Rupen Rajguru, Head of Equity Investments and Strategy at Julius Baer India, on Thursday. "The earnings season thus far has remained on track, albeit showing some positive signs in sectors like Information Technology (IT) and Consumption, although there is a noticeable strain in certain sectors such as Financials," he added.
The varied performance between benchmark indices and the broader market underscores the divergence of investor sentiment amidst budgetary and earnings outlooks.
Over the last five trading days, the BSE Sensex has seen a fall of 0.79 or 634.86 points, whereas the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has experienced a decrease of 0.51 per cent or 125.60 points over the same period.
It is noteworthy that the Union Budget had minimal impact on the stock markets in the country. According to Ajay Bagga, an expert in banking and financial markets, the budget was deemed non-event, with the Indian markets falling and then recovering throughout the day.
