Market today: Sensex, Nifty decline amid foreign fund outflows, Fed rate decision caution

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday, December 18, amid foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of the highly anticipated US Fed interest rate decision.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was down by 149.31 points to 80,535.14 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dropped 62.9 points to 24,273.10.

Among the Sensex companies, top laggards were Tata Motors, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Maruti and NTPC, while Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and ITC were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹6,409.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data cited in a news agency PTI report.

Market yesterday

On Tuesday, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty slumped by more than 1 per cent, with the former falling below the 81,000 mark, driven by a broad-based selloff and caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 1,064.12 points, or 1.30 per cent, to end at 80,684.45, while the Nifty lost 332.25 points, or 1.35 per cent, closing at 24,336. The decline was the second consecutive day of losses, with widespread pessimism across all sectors.

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Traders said investor sentiment was affected by a negative global trend, including concerns over the US Fed’s upcoming rate decision, as well as ongoing foreign capital outflows from Indian markets. The rupee also hit an all-time low, adding further pressure.

All 30 blue-chip stocks on the Sensex closed in the red, with Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, and HDFC Bank among the biggest losers. Sectoral indices also ended lower, with telecom, metal, and auto stocks facing the biggest declines.

Global markets also saw declines, with Asian markets like Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong finishing lower. European markets were mostly in the red, while Wall Street saw mixed results.

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