Sensex Sheds Over 200 Points; HDFC, Hindustan Unilever Trade Weak

Asian shares languished near one-month lows as investors speculated surging commodity prices could lead to earlier rate hikes and higher bond yields globally

The domestic stock markets have opened on a cautious note, post the nearly one per cent decline in the previous session, in line with lacklustre cues from the global front. At 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 48,892.16, lower by 262.88 points or 0.50 per cent and NSE Nifty was at 14,795.05, down 52.45 points or 0.35 per cent. The broader markets are outperforming their largecap counterparts for the second consecutive day, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index gaining 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively. Asian shares languished near one-month lows on Wednesday as investors speculated surging commodity prices and growing inflationary pressure in the United States could lead to earlier rate hikes and higher bond yields globally. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 per cent, after tumbling 1.6 per cent on Tuesday for its biggest daily percentage drop since March 24. Australia shares skidded 0.4 per cent, while South Korea's KOSPI index slipped 0.1 per cent. U.S. stocks hit a one-month low on Tuesday as speculation that rising inflation pressure could prompt interest rate hikes sooner rather than later dragged on shares and hobbled the dollar, which hovered near a 2-1/2-month low. The Nasdaq Composite ended little changed, while the Dow Jones dropped 1.4 per cent. The S&P 500 fell 0.9 per cent, off a one-month low struck earlier Tuesday.