Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Wednesday, snapping an eight-day winning streak, as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and weak global market trends. The BSE Sensex fell 330.27 points to 61,024.44, while the broader NSE Nifty dropped 97.05 points to 18,050.60 in early trade. The fall in the index was attributed to the weak performance of index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and HDFC.
Among 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.
Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading lower, while Shanghai quoted in the green. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday, and investors are likely to be cautious ahead of the US Fed meeting on interest rates later today.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said that investors are likely to exercise caution as global equity markets are trending lower, fearing any further rate hike could push key economies into a recession and temper growth going ahead.
On Tuesday, the BSE benchmark rallied for the eighth straight day and climbed 242.27 points or 0.40 percent to settle at 61,354.71. The Nifty also went up 82.65 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 18,147.65. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth ₹ 1,997.35 crores, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.03 percent to USD 75.34 per barrel.
