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Stock market benchmark indices fell in early trade on Wednesday tracking weak global trends ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
After a weak opening, the BSE Sensex fell 329.12 points to 60,343.60. The NSE Nifty closed 97.3 points down at 17,729.40.
From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Infosys, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.
Maruti and Larsen & Toubro were the winners.
South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong were trading with losses in Asian markets.
On Tuesday, the US markets closed with a significant decline.
“US stocks declined on rising concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high for a prolonged period,” said Mitul Shah, head of research-institutional desk at Reliance Securities Ltd.
On Tuesday, the BSE benchmark had closed at 60,672.72, down 18.82 points or 0.03%. The Nifty closed at 17,826.70, down 17.90 points or 0.1%.
International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.21% to $83.01 a barrel.
“US macro data continues to guide equity markets globally. US markets reacted sharply negatively to the series of economic data, indicating that the deflationary process is slowing and hence, the Fed may be more open-ended than previously expected. Will have to keep raising rates for longer than that.
VK Vijayakumar said, “This led to a sharp rise in 10-year bond yields to 3.95% and a sharp fall in stocks. These negative US equity market trends are affecting equity markets everywhere and India at least in the near term.” I can be no exception to this trend.” , Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 525.80 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.