Share market today: The two key equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday pared their gains and closed in the red amid volatility, ahead of the US Fed policy decision scheduled to be announced later in the day. The BSE Sensex dropped 131 points to end at 82,948. It hit a fresh high level of 83,326 during intra-day trade. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50, which scaled a record high of 25,482, settled at 25,378, declining 41 points.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, HCLTech, Infosys, TechM, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel were among the losers. On the flip side, Bajaj twins, Nestle, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI emerged gainers.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped by 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. The volatility index, India VIX, jumped over 6 per cent to 13.4 points.
Sectoral update
Sectorwise, the financial and banking sectors defied the broader trend, with the Nifty Financial Services and Bank Nifty indices rising by 1.40 per cent and 1.06 per cent, respectively. Additionally, the Nifty Private Bank and PSU Bank indices posted gains of up to 0.96 per cent.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the 30-share Sensex rose 91 points to 83,079, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 25418, rising 35 points.
"The Indian market experienced a minor profit-booking with underperformance by midcaps. Mixed signals from global markets emerged ahead of the anticipated FOMC rate cut decision which is seemingly priced in a 25-bps cut," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Global update
In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai settled higher. Trading was closed in Hong Kong for a national holiday. European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Tuesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 482.69 crore, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.63 per cent to $72.50 a barrel.