Nifty, Sensex fall over 1 percent, clouded by global uncertainties

By Arnab Paul

(Reuters) - Christmas brought little cheer to Indian markets on Wednesday, with major indexes falling over 1 percent as investors fretted over political uncertainties in the U.S. amid concerns of a slowdown in global growth.

Domestic shares tracked broader Asian markets as a U.S. federal government shutdown and President Donald Trump's criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell added to investors' woes.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.18 percent.

The Fed's decision on rate hikes last week sent global markets falling over concerns of global economic growth following disappointing economic data from China and Europe earlier this month.

The broader NSE Nifty was down 0.85 percent at 10,573.05 as of 0539 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.94 percent lower at 35,135.15.

Analysts feel that despite current losses, strong fundamentals mean markets are likely to benefit soon.

"The markets will bottom out soon because the macro factors are strong like crude prices falling and the possibility of RBI announcing a rate cut," said Naveen Kulkarni, head of research, Reliance Securities.

"Putting all these in perspective, we are looking at a stronger market, our target is Nifty at 12,000 by the end of next year."

Brent crude oil futures fell to below $50 a barrel for the first time since July, 2017.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd was the biggest laggard on the NSE index, falling 1.8 percent.

Software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd were down 1.8 and 1.4 percent, respectively while Yes Bank Ltd slipped 3.4 percent.

(Reporting by Arnab Paul in BENGALURU; Editing by Sunil Nair)