Indian stock markets open lower as US Fed announces rate cut

MUMBAI — The Indian stock market opened on a weak note on Thursday as Fed decision to cut rates by 25bp didn’t impact the market.

Both benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, started lower in early trade. The Sensex slipped 228 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 84,770, while the Nifty fell 81 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 25,973.

“From a technical perspective, the Nifty continues to maintain a sideways-to-bullish bias as long as it sustains above the 25,900–26,000 support zone,” analysts said.

“On the upside, immediate resistance is placed around 26,100–26,200, and a sustained move above this range could pave the way for further gains toward 26,300–26,400 in the near term,” experts added.

Several heavyweight stocks were under pressure in morning deals. Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, ITC, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Titan, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank, Trent, and HCL Tech were among the top losers, declining up to 1.5 per cent.

On the other hand, some stocks managed to stay in the green. L&T, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Ultratech Cement, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, and SBI were among the top gainers on the Sensex.

The weak start in Indian markets came after the US Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis points rate cut, lowering the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent.

However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comment that another rate cut in December was “far from a foregone conclusion” dampened investor sentiment on Wall Street, affecting Asian market trends as well.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap index was flat, while the Nifty SmallCap index edged up 0.15 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma index saw the sharpest fall, down 0.76 per cent.

The Nifty Metal and FMCG indices also slipped 0.4 per cent each, and the Nifty Private Bank index declined 0.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Realty index bucked the trend, rising 0.5 per cent in early trade.