The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday are trading lower, tracking tepid global cues, ahead of the US Fed meeting scheduled tomorrow. At 10.05 am, the BSE Sensex tanked 534 points to 72,215. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 21,890, down 166 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS fell 3 per cent amid reports that Tata Sons was to divest a 0.65 per cent stake via block deal. Nestle, Wipro, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance were the other losers. On the flip side, Tata Steel, Airtel, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Kotak Bank emerged gainers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index slipped 0.2 per cent, while SmallCap advanced 0.2 per cent.
In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex closed 105 points up at 72,748, while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 22,056, up 32 points.
"Markets' attention now shifts to the Fed's meeting outcome on March 20," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were quoting lower. The Wall Street ended in the positive territory on Monday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,051.09 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.14 per cent to $86.77 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee experienced a 5-paise decline against the US dollar, settling at 82.95 on Tuesday, influenced by robust crude oil prices and outflows of foreign funds.
Opening at 82.94 per dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee saw a decrease of 4 paise from the previous closing rate of 82.90.
During early trading, the domestic currency hovered within a narrow band of 82.93 to 82.95 against the dollar. By 9:15 am, it had depreciated by 5 paise, reaching 82.95.
Forex dealers attributed this trend to a stronger US dollar and elevated bond yields in anticipation of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, further impacting the local unit.