Markets decline in early trade amid foreign fund outflows; all eyes on US Fed interest rate decision

PTI, Dec 18, 2024, 10:06 AM IST

Representative image (PTI / file)

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in initial trade on Wednesday amid foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of the US Fed interest rate decision.

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

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Maruti and NTPC were among the laggards.

Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and ITC were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,409.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

“The near-term market construct has turned weak with FIIs turning sellers on rallies. Yesterday’s massive FII sell figure of Rs 6,410 crore in the cash market indicates that more selling is in store on market bounces.

“The focus of global markets today will be the Fed decision expected tonight. A 25 bps rate cut is priced-in by the market. So, the attention will be on the Fed commentary,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.04 per cent to USD 73.22 a barrel.

Falling for the second day in a row, the BSE benchmark tanked 1,064.12 points or 1.30 per cent to settle at 80,684.45 on Tuesday. The Nifty tumbled 332.25 points or 1.35 per cent to 24,336.