Sensex falters ahead of Fed decision; Coal India top loser

By Aby Jose Koilparambil

REUTERS - Indian shares eased on Wednesday tracking subdued Asian markets on caution ahead of a near-certain Fed rate hike later in the day, while Coal India Ltd fell the most on the NSE after disappointing quarterly results.

Asian markets remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Fed's decision with investors pricing in a quarter percentage point rate hike with two more to follow next year.

Any hint that the Fed may move more aggressively would likely send the dollar higher and jolt emerging markets.

Investors are also worried that volatile global markets could prevent the Reserve Bank of India from cutting rates next year, even after data late on Tuesday showed consumer inflation cooled to a two-year low of 3.63 percent in November.

"The inflation numbers and the Fed rate decision, among others, are factors that the RBI looks at for deciding on its monetary policy," said Siddhartha Khemka, Vice President-Research at Centrum Wealth Management Ltd.

"The possible FII outflow back to US following a Fed rate hike would impact the market," he said.

Sectors with high weightage in the index could be affected more and financials is one such sector, Khemka added.

The Nifty was down 0.3 percent at 8,197.95 by 0532 GMT, while the Sensex was 0.18 percent lower at 26,650.22.

Coal India was down about 3 percent and was the top loser on the NSE index after the company reported a slump in its consolidated profit for the September quarter.

Financial stocks fell on caution ahead of Fed decision with Housing Development Finance Corp sliding as much as 1.5 percent.

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)