Sensex slips more than 500 points

New Delhi, March 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) BSE Sensex is trading at 72,576.14 points, down by 521.14 points on Friday.

HPCL was down by 7 per cent, NTPC more than 3 per cent, M&M, Tata Motors more than 2 per cent and IOC, BPCL more than 6 per cent.

"The rebound in the market on Thursday after the Wednesday crash is unlikely to sustain. Brent crude rising to $85 and the 10-year US bond yield spiking to 4.29 per cent are headwinds for the market," said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

"Results of the stress tests conducted by the mid and small cap schemes of mutual funds expected today will be keenly watched by the market. If there are clear signs of stress there can be regulatory action by the SEBI, which will impact sentiments in the broader market," he said.

"Even without stress tests, the broader market valuations are expensive, and in some pockets, valuations are frothy. This is clearly unsustainable. Even when prospects for certain sectors are good, valuations have run ahead of fundamentals. Low floating stock in many segments has resulted in prices shooting up," he said.

"Investors should understand that high quality largecaps with good growth prospects are available at fair valuations. Focussing on such stocks would be safer than chasing smallcaps with stretched valuations," he added.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) announced a reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2 per litre across the country.

Asian markets opened lower following declines on Wall Street as new data weakened the case for imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, he said.

Source: IANS