Sensex Sheds Over 200 Points, Nifty Below 10,800; Banks Lead Losses

The domestic equity market further extended its losses on Thursday after  the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates and took a more hawkish tone in forecasting a slightly faster pace of tightening.
At 10:24 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was at 35,535.60, down 203.56 points or 0.57 per cent while the broader Nifty50 was at 10,791.35, with a loss of 65.35 points or 0.60 per cent. The losses in the 50-share Nifty50 were led by State Bank of India (down 1.89 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (down 1.70 per cent), TechM (down 1.70 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 1.41 per cent), and Bharti Infratel (down 1.43 per cent).

A total of 40 stocks in the Nifty50 index traded with losses. The Nifty PSU Bank index was down 1.60 per cent as all 12 stocks declined in trade. The Nifty Bank index lost 0.38 per cent as 10 out of 12 stocks declined.

Technical experts, however, suggested that Nifty is set to oscillate in the escalating channel with intermediate resistance of 10,900, where bulls' threshold is placed. "If the bulls manage to surpass the 10,900 mark, we may see a further escalation towards the 11,000 level. The intermediate support is at 10,800," said Dyaneshwar Padwal, AVP-technical analysis, KIFS Trade Capital.

In global markets, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.5 per cent, according to a report by news agency Reuters. South Korea's KOSPI was off 1.2 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.4 per cent.

On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors net sold equities worth Rs 70.77 crore while domestic institutional investors net purchased shares worth Rs 486.78 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The Sensex had closed at 35,739.16 while the Nifty50 had settled at 10,856.70. (With Reuters inputs)