Sensex, Nifty Edge Lower; US Fed Meeting In Focus

Indian equity benchmarks on Wednesday edged lower in opening deals, extending their fall for the third straight session amid volatile trade. Trends on the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) indicated a flat start for the domestic indices.

Stocks in Asia were mostly lower as investors awaited the quantum of another sharp U.S. interest rate hike. The central bank had raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points (bps) in its previous policy and is likely to hike it further by 75 bps in July’s policy outcome, due later in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 27 points or 0.05 per cent to 55,241 in the early trade, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 9 points or 0.05 per cent lower to trade at 16,475.

Mid- and small-cap shares were negative as Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.21 per cent and small-cap shed 0.34 per cent.

12 out of the 15 sector gauges — compiled by the National Stock Exchange — were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Financial Services were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 1.04 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Bajaj Finserv was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 2 per cent to ₹ 13,046.80. Apollo Hospitals, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and JSW Steel were also among the laggards.

The overall market breadth was slightly weak as 1,150 shares were advancing while 1,381 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Bajaj Finserv, Airtel, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, M&M, ITC and IndusInd Bank were among the top losers.

Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, fell 0.17 per cent to trade at ₹ 674.20.

In contrast, L&T, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, PowerGrid, Asian Paints, Nestle India, TCS, Tata Steel, Maruti and Wipro were trading in the green.

Further, shares of food delivery company Zomato rebounded 3.60 per cent to trade at ₹ 43.15 after crashing for two consecutive sessions following the expiry of a one-year lock-in period for promoters, employees and other investors.

Sensex had plunged 498 points or 0.89 per cent to close at 55,268 on Tuesday, while Nifty had moved 147 points or 0.88 per cent lower to settle at 16,484.