Sensex sheds 849 points ahead of key US Fed meet

Mumbai: The Indian stock market closed in red on Thursday as there was heavy selling in all sectors except PSU banks.

The Indian benchmark indices closed down by more than 1 per cent.

Sensex fell 836 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 79,541.79 at the end of trading.

On the other hand, Nifty fell 284.70 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 24,199.35. Nifty Bank fell 400.90 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 51,916.50. Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 57,916.50 at the end of trading after falling 246.65 points or 0.43 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,763.85 after falling 142.25 points or 0.75 per cent.

Huge selling was seen in the metal sector of Nifty. Apart from this, auto, pharma, realty, energy and infra sectors fell by more than 1 per cent.

IT, financial services, FMCG, media, private banks, commodities, PSE, and healthcare sectors also closed trading in the red. Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Ultra Tech Cement, JSW Steel, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, and Power Grid were the top losers in the Sensex pack. SBI was on the list of top gainers.

The market trend remained negative. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,825 stocks were trading in the green, 2,129 in the red, and there was no change in 99 shares.

According to market experts, the domestic market ended with a deeper cut while eroding Wednesday’s gain over the Trump trade. Disappointing Q2 and persistent selling by FIIs continue to dampen market sentiment. However, investors are now shifting their attention to the upcoming Fed policy meeting and domestic public outlay, which are anticipated to offer more insight into the future trade path, they mentioned.

Meanwhile, the rupee traded weak at 84.36, registering a decline of 0.04. The dollar index remained stable near 104.50, maintaining its strength as investors positioned themselves ahead of the key Federal Reserve meeting.