Stock market indices drift higher in sluggish session

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty eked out marginal gains on Wednesday following late buying in capital goods, auto and utility stocks as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the US Fed interest rate decision. The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 33.57 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 69,584.60, driven by late buying. During the day, it fell 450.47 points or 0.64 per cent to 69,100.56. The Nifty gained 19.95 points or 0.10 per cent to 20,926.35.

“The market’s focus now shifts to the upcoming FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting. And the recent global upside is getting far stretched in anticipation of a rapid fall in US Fed rate in CY 2024,” said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

“Asian shares were mixed while European markets were up on Wednesday, as traders waited for the year’s final policy decision from the Federal Reserve and clues on whether the central bank will cut rates next year,” said Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities.

“Domestic equities were lacklustre ahead US Fed’s decision late today. Nifty remained in negative territory for the most part of the day, but last hour buying helped indices to close in green with marginal gains of 20 points at 20,926 levels,” adds Siddhartha Khemka, head (retail research), Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.