Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty slump after US Fed rate cut decision

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday.

At 9.30am, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was down by 1,010 points to 79,171. The NSE Nifty dropped 302 points to 23,895.

The decline comes after the US Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate by (25 bps) or a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25-4.50 per cent.

The Fed’s caution pushed Wall Street equities sharply lower overnight and triggered a slide in Asian peers early on the day.

All three major indices finished firmly lower after the Fed projected just two interest rate cuts next year, down from four.

The Dow slid 2.6 per cent, or more than 1,100 points, to 42,326.87.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 3.0 per cent to 5,872.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 3.6 per cent to 19,392.69.

Market yesterday
On Wednesday, the Sensex closed at 80,182.20 points, down 502.25 points or 0.62 per cent, while the Nifty ended at 24,198.85 points, declining by 137.15 points or 0.56 per cent.

As many as 2,563 stocks declined while 1,442 advanced and 94 remained unchanged on the BSE. The NSE Nifty declined 137.15 points or 0.56 per cent to 24,198.85.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Power Grid, NTPC, Adani Ports, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finance were the main laggards. However, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies were the gainers.

The BSE smallcap index had also declined 0.76 per cent, and the midcap gauge dipped 0.61 per cent. Among sectoral indices, utilities tanked 2.06 per cent, power (1.78 per cent), capital goods (1.56 per cent), metal (1.44 per cent), industrials (1.30 per cent) and financial services (1.20 per cent).