The domestic indices opened flat on Friday after concluding yesterday’s session in the red. In the last trading session, Sensex gave up the 61,000 mark to close at 60,858 points and Nifty closed near the 18,100 mark.
The BSE Sensex opened at 60,901 points, slightly above the previous close, while Nifty-50 began trading only 8 points above the previous close at 18,115 points; however, Nifty Bank opened firmly in green at 42,516 points.
So far in the trading session, Sensex and Nifty have swung between minor gains and losses, whereas Nifty Bank has maintained an upward trend. As of 1:55 PM, Sensex is trading with marginal losses at 60,793 points, down 64 points or 0.11%, while Nifty is trading flat at 18,081 points and Nifty Bank is up nearly 300 points or 0.66% to trade near the 42,600 mark.
In a Financial Express article, Ruchit Jain, Lead for Research at 5paisa.com, writes, “The January series have turned out to be a phase of consolidation so far as the indices have traded in a broad range. The index has seen some selling pressure on pullback moves mainly due to FII’s selling in the cash as well as the futures segment. However, the selling has been absorbed without much price correction which is a good sign. In last few weeks, Nifty has been oscillating within a range wherein the range of 17750-17800 has been acting as a support while the pullback moves are witnessing selling pressure.”
Wall Street extended losses on Thursday as investors grew concerned that despite signs of easing inflation, the Fed is unlikely to go easy, which could tip the economy into recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 252 points or 0.76%, while S&P 500 fell 30 points or 0.76% and Nasdaq Composite closed almost one percent lower.
The labor market in the US still remains resilient despite Fed’s effort to cool down the economy. The data released by the US labor department showed that unemployment claims decreased by 15,000 in the week ending on January 14th. The figure stands at 190,000 from 205,000 recorded in the previous week.
Ed Moya, senior market analyst with currency data and trading firm Oanda said, “Despite all the big-tech post-pandemic layoffs, the jobs market remains hot. The labor market needs to break to allow the Fed to comfortably keep rates on hold.”