NSE & BSE fall in early trade

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Thursday after hawkish commentary from the US Fed on interest rates. After rallying for the past three days, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 158.16 points to reach 63,070.35. The NSE Nifty dipped by 34.15 points to settle at 18,721.75.

Status of previous trading session

The Sensex had climbed by 85.35 points or 0.14 percent to settle at 63,228.51 on Wednesday. The Nifty advanced by 39.75 points or 0.21 percent to end at 18,755.90. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,714.72 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Position of stocks listed in BSE

From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Power Grid, Tata Steel, and State Bank of India were the major laggards. Maruti, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Nestle, and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers. Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped by 0.25 percent to USD 73.02 a barrel.

Performance of markets worldwide

In Asian markets, Seoul traded lower, while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong quoted in the green. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday. The US Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after having raised it 10 straight times to combat high inflation. But in a surprise move, the Fed signalled that it may raise rates twice more this year, beginning as soon as next month.

"The Fed decision to skip rate hikes was overshadowed by the more hawkish-than-expected commentary. The Fed chief's comment that 'nearly all committee participants expect that it will be appropriate to raise interest rates somewhat further by the end of the year' is negative news," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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