IT, PSU banks drag markets amid unclear Fed stance, Israel-Iran tensions

The Nifty IT index fell over 1 per cent, dragged by OFSS, LTIMindtree, Coforge, Tech Mahindra, Persistent and Mphasis falling up to 3.2 per cent

Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, recovered early loses and were trading flat during the afternoon session amid muted investor sentiment globally after US Federa Reserve maintained status quo on interest rates and ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. 

 

Last checked, the Sensex was trading at 81,403 levels, down 41.66 points or 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty50 was at 24,799.65, down 12.40 points or 0.05 per cent.   READ STOCK MARKET UPDATES TODAY LIVE 

The Nifty IT index fell over 1 per cent, dragged by Oracle Financial Software Services (OFSS), LTIMindtree, Coforge, Tech Mahindra, Persistent and Mphasis falling up to 3.2 per cent. Wipro was the only gainer, up by 0.8 per cent.

 

Among others, the Nifty PSU Bank index was down 2.2 per cent, followed by Realty, IT, and Media falling over 1 per cent each. Except for Nifty Auto, all major sectoral indices were trading lower.  

Amid the muted sentiment, the broader markets were underperforming the leading indices. Last checked, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 1.5 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 1.8 per cent. 

According to analysts at JM Financial, the main focus of Powell was on the uncertainty around the impact of the tariffs on growth and inflation, however, his commentary lacked clarity. 

 

"This indicates the extent of uncertainty which even the US central bank is facing on the tariff policy. The Dot plots signalled two more rate cuts in 2025, which is in our base case and to which even the market has now aligned. As this policy move was widely anticipated, market reactions were muted in the equity segment," JM Financial said in a report.

 

Akshay Chinchalkar, head of research at Axis Securities, said that the global sentiment is bearish because the chances of the US joining the Israel-Iran war have increased after President Trump's statement yesterday that all options are on the table.

 

"The Nifty finished 41 points down yesterday but the fact that the candle had a long upper shadow means the intraday highs just under the pivotal 25,000 level were sold into aggressively, and that's not bullish behaviour. If we record a daily close below the 24750 lows against the 24,950 highs, it will increase the risk of a deeper pullback toward the low end of the 24,600 - 24,800 zone. Immediate resistance on the upside rests near yesterday's highs and should bulls break above there, the next upside objective will be 25,240," he added.