Stock Market Trades Marginally Lower: Sensex And Nifty Flat. Banks, Metal Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, JSW Steel, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, PowerGrid, HDFC Bank were among early losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday opened with marginal cuts. However, the domestic indices turned flat ahead of the US Fed’s monetary policy decision later in the day. At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex dipped 17 points to 63,857. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,086, up 6 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, JSW Steel, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, PowerGrid, HDFC Bank were among early losers. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, TechM, HCL emerged gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index was trading flat, while the Smallcap index rose 0.3 per cent.

Sectorally, barring bank and metal, all other indices are trading in the positive zone, with oil & gas and realty up 1 per cent each. Auto and FMCG were the other gainers.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 238 points lower at 63,875, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 19,080, down 61 points.

In Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading in the positive zone. The US markets ended in the green on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.05 per cent to $87.41 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 696.02 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, "It is important to understand that equity markets globally are being impacted more by the spike in US bond yields rather than the Israel-Hamas conflict. The US 10-year bond yield above 4.9 per cent will continue to be a major headwind for stock markets, particularly for those in emerging markets. Sustained selling by FIIs is likely to continue weighing on markets," said.

Meanwhile, Indian rupee declined 3 paise to 83.27 against the US dollar in the morning session on Wednesday, tracking a strong Us currency overseas and muted trend in domestic equities. Persistent foreign fund outflows also weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.26 against the dollar. It touched a low of 83.27 in initial deals, registering a fall of 3 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 83.24 against the American currency.