Sensex, Nifty 50 Extend Decline For 3rd Straight Session Ahead Of US Fed’s Policy Outcome

Benchmark indices, after a volatile session, ended in the red for the third straight session on December 10. Both Sensex and Nifty 50 started on a positive note; however, gradually the momentum fizzled out, and towards the end of the session, both indices ended near their day's low. Investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome due later tonight.

At close, Sensex stood at 84,391.27, down 275.01 points, or 0.32 per cent, and Nifty 50 stood at 25,758, down 81.65 points, or 0.32 per cent.

Broader market indices slipped even more. Nifty Smallcap 100 ended 0.90 per cent lower, Nifty Midcap 100 closed 1.12 per cent down, and Nifty Microcap 250 ended 0.63 per cent in the red. Nifty 500, which represents more than 92 per cent of the total free-float market cap of all NSE-listed stocks, closed 0.46 per cent lower.

IT, Consumer Durables Top Sectoral Losers

Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty IT slipped 1.72 per cent and 0.89 per cent, respectively, emerging as the top sectoral losers.

PSU Bank, Private Bank, and Financial Services were other top losers, while FMCG ended flat with a slight negative bias. On the other hand, Metal, Media, Oil & Gas, and Pharma were the top gainers during the session.

Nifty 50: Top Gainers & Losers

Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Eicher Motors, Hindalco, and HDFC Life Insurance emerged as the top gainers, rising between 1 per cent and 1.50 per cent. Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Coal India, NTPC, Max Healthcare, HCL Technologies, and ITC were other top gainers during the session.

On the other hand, InterGlobe Aviation fell 3.17 per cent and Eternal (formerly Zomato) declined 3.09 per cent, emerging as the top losers of the day. Trent, Adani Enterprises, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, and Shriram Finance were other top losers.

Stock Market Outlook

The US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will conclude its meeting tonight, its eighth and final meeting of the year. Once the meeting concludes, the FOMC will release its policy decisions at 2 PM ET (12:30 AM IST). Then the Fed chairman will hold a news conference at 2:30 PM ET (1:00 AM). Market participants will be keenly tracking the policy outcome and its impact on the US markets and other major global markets.  

Further, the US trade negotiation team is in Delhi this week for another round of discussions on the India-US bilateral trade agreement, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said earlier today. “Talks are continuously progressing with them. We are moving forward towards a bilateral trade agreement,” he added during the Pravasi Rajasthani Divas event, according to PTI. Market participants will keep a close eye on further developments on the same.