Indian markets close marginally down ahead of likely Fed rate cut late tonight

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 18 (ANI): BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 on Wednesday closed flat on Wednesday as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s decision on rate cut.

The NSE Nifty50 closed at 25,377.55, down 41 points (0.16 per cent), after reaching an intraday high of 25,482.20. Similarly, the BSE Sensex ended at 82,948.23, down 131.43 points (0.16 per cent), having peaked at 83,326.38 earlier in the session.

Federal Reserve’s policy committee meeting has started and decision on rate cut will come late tonight.

During the trading hours, the stocks of Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, and ICICI Bank were among the top gainers.

TCS, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro were among the major losers on Wednesday’s trade.

The banking and financial services sector surged the most in today’s market session.

As per the market analysts, the surge in the stocks of the banking and financial services sector was supported by hopes of a rate cut that could boost revenue. However, PSU Banks were seen trading with muted gains.

“Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex touched fresh all-time highs today. However, it couldn’t sustain the level and formed a “High Wave” candlestick pattern on the daily timeframe. Notably, the broader trend is still bullish,” said VLA Ambala, SEBI Registered Research Analyst and Co-Founder of Stock Market Today.

“The market is in overbought zone with Nifty RSI above 80 on the monthly chart and 70 on the weekly chart, demanding caution. This is a rare combination of all-time highs in both the stock market and gold. This usually protects against market fluctuations, reflecting global geopolitical tensions and the looming recession,” she further added.

“A breakout above 25,500 could signal further upward momentum, while a drop below 25,200 may trigger profit-taking, potentially leading to support at the 25,000 level,” said Varun Aggarwal, MD, Profit Idea.

In the commodities market, gold prices remained stable amid rising dollar values and yields, following stronger-than-expected US retail sales data. Market participants anticipate a potential 50-bps rate cut by the Fed, although delays in rate adjustments could impact gold prices negatively in the short term.

Asia-Pacific markets finished higher, buoyed by gains on Wall Street, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.49 per cent. US stock futures were mixed as investors prepared for the Fed’s interest rate decision, with a 63 per cent probability of a 50-basis point cut.

In energy markets, US crude oil rose 1.57 per cent to USD 71.19 per barrel, while Brent increased 1.31 per cent to USD 73.70. Spot gold fell 0.51 per cent to USD 2,569.51 an ounce, after hitting a record high earlier this week.