Omicron fear hits market badly

Hyderabad: THE fear of new Corona variant, Omicron has been rapidly spreading throughout the globe. The USA, Russia and almost entire Europe. All major bourses recorded heavy losses in the range of 1 per cent to over 2 per cent. The BSE at home, witnessed a loss of Rs 7.36 lakh crore on November 26 representing a decline of 2.87 per cent in Sensex and 2.91 per cent in Nifty 50.

New York gold closed at $1,791.80 (per Ounce) while silver closed at $23.09 (per Ounce). Platinum and Palladium closed at $954 (per Ounce) and $1,680 (per Ounce) respectively.

In local markets, standard gold (24 carats) further depreciated by Rs 760 and closed at Rs 49,150 (per 10 gms). Ornamental gold too, followed the suit and was quoted in the range of Rs 44,950 – 45,050 on the closing day. Silver (0.999) further depreciated by Rs 2,500 and closed at Rs 67,900 (per kg). Following the rumours that the government may enhance the present GST rate of 3 per cent to 5 per cent on the sale of gold, traders have expressed apprehensions that such a move would not only adversely impact the gold trade, but also result into escalation of gold smuggling and zero trading.

COMMODITIES

Rythu Bazars and the various commodity markets in Begum Bazar, Kishangunj, Mukthyargunj, Risala Abdullah, Mir AlamMandi, Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally, Bowenpally, General Bazar recorded moderate trading.

During the week, common pulses - tuar dal, masoor dal, moong dal and urad dal and commodities like chillies and garlic remained unchanged at their respective last week's closing levels, while staple foodgrains and common edible oil recorded a negligible decline.