Mumbai’s stock market opened lower on Thursday, with the benchmark index, the Sensex, falling by roughly 150 points as a result of conflicting global cues and broader worries about the direction the US Federal Reserve may take interest rates.
The broad NSE Nifty slid 29.75 points or 0.17 percent to 17,724.65 points, while the 30-share BSE Sensex sank 149.95 points, or 0.25 percent, to 60,198.14 points.
17 Sensex components, including Reliance, TCS, and HDFC, were trading in the red at one point.
The Asian markets showed mixed tendencies, with China decreasing while Japan increased.In spite of positive labor market data and an increase in inflation, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the central bank has not yet decided the magnitude of a prospective interest rate hike later this month. This led to mixed patterns on the US market on Wednesday.
The head of retail research at HDFC Securities, Deepak Jasani, stated in a pre-market note that Asian shares were subdued on Thursday following a bumpy US session that saw key benchmarks post minor gains as investors considered the outlook for interest rates.
On Wednesday, the Nifty gained 42.95 points to close the day at 17,754.40 points, while the Sensex closed the day 123.63 points higher at 60,348.09 points.
On Wednesday, net investments by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were Rs 3,671.56 crore.
