Markets take a breather; global stocks slide on Fed rate hike

Snapping a seven-day rising streak, equity benchmarks finished with mild losses Thursday amid a broad reversal across global markets following Fed's rate hike.

The BSE Sensex, which had dropped more than 250 points in morning trade, finally finished 52.66 points, or 0.14 per cent, lower at 36,431.67.

The broader NSE Nifty slipped 15.60 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 10,951.70.

World markets tumbled after the US Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the fourth time this year, and signalled more next year, albeit at a slower pace than expected. The quarter-point increase, to 2.25-2.5 per cent, lifted the Fed's key rate to its highest point since 2008.

A rebound in the rupee and softening crude oil prices cushioned the fall for the domestic markets, traders said.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Yes Bank, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, L&T and HDFC Bank, rising up to 3.93 per cent.

Losers included Bharti Airtel, SBI, Wipro, Vedanta, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries, falling up to 2.18 per cent.

PSU bank stocks were the biggest losers on both exchanges, after the government sought Parliament's approval for additional gross expenditure of Rs 85,948.86 crore, about half of which is for capital infusion in public sector banks through recapitalisation bonds, during the current fiscal.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,209.21 crore Wednesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 481.46 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Globally, the Fed's move came despite US President Donald Trump's attacks in the recent weeks on its rate hikes and on Chairman Jerome Powell personally. The president had complained that the moves are threatening the economy.

At a news conference after the Fed's announcement, Powell said Trump's tweets and statements would have no bearing on the central bank's policymaking.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea's Kospi fell 0.90 per cent, Japan's Nikkei plunged 2.84 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.94 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.52 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.84 per cent and Paris' CAC 40 shed 1.33 per cent in their early deals. London's FTSE too slipped 0.84 per cent.