Mumbai: Benchmark indices fell in early trade on Thursday, facing heavy volatility, amid the emergence of profit-taking and negative trend in the US markets. Hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made investors cautious. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 150.18 points to 63,372.97 even after a positive beginning to the trade. The BSE benchmark hit an intra-day all-time peak of 63,601.71 in initial deals. However, the benchmark index faced volatile trends later and was trading marginally lower. The NSE Nifty dipped by 25.95 points to reach 18,830.90 in early trade.
On Wednesday, the Sensex climbed by 195.45 points or 0.31 percent to settle at a record closing high of 63,523.15. The Nifty advanced by 40.15 points or 0.21 percent to end at its lifetime closing peak of 18,856.85. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 4,013.10 crore on Wednesday.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Power Grid, Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle were the biggest laggards. Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Maruti, ITC, and Reliance Industries were among the major gainers.
In Asian markets, Seoul quoted in the green, while Tokyo traded lower. The US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.31 per cent to USD 76.88 a barrel.
"Markets are likely to ease in early trade on Thursday amid weak US and Asian indices, while a hawkish Federal Reserve backdrop could fuel some volatility. There are clear signals that the Fed may go for further rate hikes as Powell in his testimony before the US Congress yesterday stressed that inflation remains high and the process to get back to 2 percent has a long way to go," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
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