INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Indian equity benchmarks declined for second straight session on Thursday mirroring losses in global markets after the US Federal
Reserve hinted that it may raise interest rates at a much faster pace than assumed
The Sensex fell as much as 462 points and Nifty 50 index briefly dropped below its psychological level of 15,650 at the day's lowest level
HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were among the top drags on the Sensex.The Sensex ended 179 points to close
at 52,323 and Nifty 50 index declined 76 points to end at 15,691.The Fed suggested that it would raise their benchmark short-term rate,
which influences many consumer and business loans, twice by late 2023
The previous estimate was that there would be no rate hike until 2024.Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended
lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's over 1.5 per cent fall.Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Metal, Pharma and PSU Bank indices also
fell between 1-2 per cent.On the other hand, IT and FMCG shares outperformed in an otherwise weak session.Mid- and small-cap shares also
faced selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 1.25 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.61 per cent.Adani Ports was
top Nifty loser, the stock fell 9 per cent to close at Rs 643
Hindalco, IndusInd Bank, Eicher Motors, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's Labs, Coal India, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank
and State Bank of India also fell between 1.5-3 per cent.On the flipside, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Infosys, Asian Paints, Tata Consumer
Products, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Life, Wipro and HCL Technologies were among the gainers.The overall market breadth was negative as 1,822
shares ended lower while 1,383 closed higher on the BSE.
