Domestic stocks came under intense selling pressure on Jan. 27, as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spooked investors after the central bank’s monetary policy statement on Jan. 26.

In early morning session on January 27, the Nifty 50 index plummeted 280 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,997, while the BSE-Sensex was at 57,031, down 1.4 percent or 826 points.

Investors were troubled by Powell’s hawkish comments on the scope of future monetary policy tightening, even as the central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and signaled that a near-term rate hike would be “appropriate.”

Powell said at a news conference after the policy announcement that the upside risks of a strong U.S. labor market and decades of high inflation mean the central bank has plenty of room to raise interest rates in the background while it shrinks its balance sheet.

“I think there’s quite a bit of room to raise interest rates without threatening the labor market,” Powell said. Market participants interpreted the Fed’s comfort on the economy as a signal that the Fed may raise interest rates. The rate hike has more than quadrupled this year.

Investors widely expect the central bank to raise interest rates four times in 2022 ahead of its Jan. 26 monetary policy meeting. Investment bank Nomura reportedly expects the central bank to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its upcoming March meeting.

Still, for emerging markets such as India, a faster pace of rate hikes could further accelerate foreign capital outflows from the country. So far, foreign investors have withdrawn nearly Rs. Domestic stocks hit Rs 100 crore since early October.

Pressure from foreign inflows was also weighed down by the rise in the dollar index. The U.S. dollar index rose nearly 1% on Jan. 26 after Jerome Powell’s hawkish statement. A recent report from JPMorgan India showed that the Nifty 50 index was negatively correlated with the US dollar index as carry trades were affected.

Complete News Source : Money Control