Sensex down 130 points after Fed cuts interest rate

At 9.50 am, the BSE Sensex shed 150.76 points or 0.42% to trade at 35,588.40, while the broader NSE Nifty was down 42.60 points or 0.39% at 10,814.10.

Equities slipped back into the red today after a three-day winning run as investors turned cautious following US Federal Reserve’s rate hike.

The BSE Sensex, which had closed at 35,739.16 points on Wednesday, opened higher at 35,743.10 points.

At 9.50 am, however, the BSE Sensex shed 150.76 points or 0.42% to trade at 35,588.40, while the broader NSE Nifty was down 42.60 points or 0.39% at 10,814.10.

The BSE Sensex had gained 295.49 points in the last three sessions.

Brokers said caution prevailed after the US Fed raised its key interest rate by 0.25% on Wednesday, the second increase of the year, and signalled two more hikes in 2018 and four in 2019.

Laggards included Wipro, Axis Bank, TCS, NTPC, SBI, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Coal India, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Hero MotoCorp and L&T, falling by up to 1.08%.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 70.77 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 486.78 crore Wednesday, as per provisional data.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.75%, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.47% and Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.28% in early deals.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.47% lower in Wednesday’s trade.