BANGALORE (Reuters) – India’s stock market fell weekly in early 2023. Investors are nervous ahead of earnings season after recent warnings from some big companies.
Strong U.S. jobs data, which suggests the Federal Reserve can sustain interest rate hikes, also weighed on the economy.
Friday’s Nifty 50 Index closed 0.74% lower at 17,859.45. The S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.75% to 59,900.37, falling below 60,000 for the first time in over a week.
The two indices have now fallen three times in a row. The Nifty 50, which traded between the 50-day and 100-day simple moving averages over 10 sessions, closed below the 100-day support on Friday.
Aishvarya Dadichi, director and fund manager at Ambit Asset Management, said: “Market tensions in the last few sessions have been seen at Bajaj Finance and fast-moving consumer goods companies. This is due to sluggish earnings forecasts.
Earlier this week, shadow lender Bajaj Finance (BJFN.NS) reported a modest increase in new loans each quarter. Godrej Consumer Products (GOCP.NS) and Mariko (MRCO.NS), meanwhile, showed weaker demand in rural areas.
Dabur (DABU.NS) closed 3.47% lower on Friday after the company warned of a hit to margins in the third quarter from currency movements and inflation in international business.
Last night, US data showed private employers hired more workers than expected in December, suggesting a strong labor market that could allow the Fed to raise interest rates.
Investors are already wary of high interest rates slowing economic growth, which doesn’t bode well for Indian IT services companies, which derive most of their revenue from the US market.
IT stocks (.NIFTYIT) were down 2%, the biggest decline of the 13 major sectors, while heavily weighted financial stocks (.NIFTYFIN) were down nearly 1%.
Thirty-nine Nifty 50 stocks fell about 3%, led by JSW Steel and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS). TCS is expected to report results on Monday. ($1 = 82.5680 Indian Rupee)
Reported by Bharath Rajeswaran, Bangalore. Edited by Savio D’Souza and Janane Venkatraman
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