Stock Market: Sensex Marginally Rises By 31 Points, Nifty Holds 17,800 Amid High Volatility

Stock update: IndusInd Bank, Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank, TCS, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest losers on the Sensex platform

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Wednesday opened flat following weak global market trends ahead of the keenly awaited US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting outcome on interest rates. The two domestic indices were oscillating between gains and losses amid high volatility.

At 10.45 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 59,751, up 31 points, while the broader NSE was down by 5.80 per cent at 17,810.

Among the 30-share Sensex platform, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank, TCS, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest laggards. On the flip side, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the gainers.

However, in the broader markets indices as Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 climbed up to 0.4 per cent.

All sectors started trade on a volatile note as they swung between gains and losses. Nifty Auto, Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG indices opened with marginal gains. On the other hand, Nifty Bank and Nifty Realty indices were bogged down in trade.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE benchmark had climbed 578.51 points (0.98 per cent) to settle at 59,719, while the Nifty went higher by 194 points (1.10 per cent) to end at 17,816.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets had ended in the negative territory on Tuesday.

"Markets are likely to trade in choppy waters intra-day, as traders look forward to the keenly awaited US Fed policy meeting outcome on interest rates," said Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.22 per cent to $90.82 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 1,196.19 crore on Tuesday, according to data available with the BSE.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 8 paise to 79.82 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday as investors await the US Fed's policy decision on interest rates for further cues.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 79.81 against the greenback, then fell to 79.82, registering a decline of 8 paise over its last close.