Markets Decline In Early Trade Ahead Of Fed’s Interest Rate Decision

Benchmark indices fell in early trade on Wednesday, halting their eight days of rally, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and weak global market trends.

Also, fall in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys and HDFC added to the weak trend in equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 330.27 points to 61,024.44. The broader NSE Nifty fell 97.05 points to 18,050.60.

From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Reliance Industries , Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and HDFC were the major laggards.

NTPC, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Power Grid and Tata Motors were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong traded lower, while Shanghai quoted in the green.

The US markets had ended lower on Tuesday.

“Key indices are likely to be under pressure in early trade ahead of the US Fed meeting on interest rate later today. Investors are likely to exercise caution as global equity markets too are trending lower fearing any further rate hike could push key economies into recession and temper growth going ahead,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said in his pre-market opening quote.

Rallying for the eighth straight day, the BSE benchmark had climbed 242.27 points or 0.40 per cent to settle at 61,354.71 on Tuesday. The Nifty went up 82.65 points or 0.46 per cent to finish at 18,147.65.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.03 per cent to USD 75.34 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,997.35 crore, according to exchange data.