Stocks bleed as US yields soar, rate cut hopes fade

US jobs data dulls hopes on Fed rate cuts; frontline stocks, mid-, small-caps hit

- Dipti Sharma

MUMBAI: Fears over fewer rate cuts in the US and a greenback gathering steam sent shockwaves over the Street on Monday, making investors poorer by more than ₹12 lakh crore overnight.

The carnage did not spare any corner of the market - While the Nifty and Sensex plunged 1.5% and 1.4% to close at seven-month lows of 23,085.95 and 76,330.01 points, the broader market fared worse, with Nifty's mid-cap and small-cap indices plunging 4% each to hit seven-month lows of 52390.4 and 16159.9 points.

The rupee wasn't spared either, slipping below the 86-mark for the first time. The local currency lost 0.7% or 56 paise—its single-biggest decline in two years—to close at a record low of 86.57 to the dollar.

Weak corporate earnings could make matters worse.