Investors in wait and watch mode ahead of US Fed meet

Mumbai: Benchmark indices stayed on the backfoot on Tuesday after the previous session's rout as risk-off sentiment prevailed amid weak global cues and persistent foreign fund outflows. Lacklustre macroeconomic data and the rupee staying near its lifetime low further dampened buying appetite, traders said.

Global investors were in wait-and-watch mode ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday amid expectations of accelerated rate hikes to cool scorching inflation, they added.

Sliding for the third straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 153.13 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 52,693.57 -- its lowest since July 30, 2021. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty declined by 42.30 points or 0.27 per cent to end at 15,732.10. "Domestic market restrained from heavy sell-off as CPI data moderated on a month-on-month basis and this had a calming down effect amidst global volatility. However, elevated WPI data continued to dominate the broad market, which is cautious awaiting tomorrow's outcome of Fed policy," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

"Markets ended marginally lower in a volatile trading session, in continuation of the prevailing trend. After the soft start, the benchmark made multiple attempts to recover but selling pressure in heavyweights capped the upside till the end. Markets are witnessing pressure ahead of the crucial US Fed meet outcome scheduled on Wednesday," said Ajit Mishra, V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 4,164.01 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge fell by 0.40 per cent and the midcap index dipped 0.16 per cent. Among BSE sectoral indices, energy tanked 1.22 per cent, oil & gas declined 1.14 per cent, auto 0.52 per cent, finance 0.50 per cent and metal 0.47 per cent, among others. Healthcare, industrials, IT, utilities, capital goods, realty, power and teck logged gains.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser among Sensex constituents, losing 2.12 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Maruti, HDFC twins, Asian Paints and HUL. In value terms, Reliance Industries and the HDFC duo accounted for the most of the benchmark's losses. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel topped the gainers' list with a jump of 1.63 per cent. NTPC, UltraTech Cement, M&M, Infosys, Dr Reddy's and L&T were among the other gainers, climbing as much as 1.61 per cent.