MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slumped over 1 per cent on Tuesday, dragged down by an across-the-board selloff as investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
Falling for the second consecutive session, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,064.12 points or 1.30 per cent to settle at 80,684.45. During intraday trade, it plunged 1,136.37 points or 1.39 per cent to 80,612.20. The NSE Nifty shed 332.25 points or 1.35 per cent to close at 24,336.
All 30 constituents of the blue-chip Sensex pack ended in the red, with Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank leading the declines.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong closed lower. European markets were mostly trading in negative territory, while Wall Street ended mostly higher on Monday.
“Widespread pessimism prevails across all sectors ahead of key policy decisions from the US Fed, Bank of Japan (BoJ), and Bank of England (BoE). While the market has already factored in a 25 basis point cut from the US Fed, it remains vigilant for any hawkish signals.
The BoJ and BoE are largely expected to maintain their current rates for the year.
Rupee digs another all-time low
Concurrently, the rupee has depreciated to an all-time low, and a record-high trade deficit is exacerbating the pressure. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs278.70 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.50 per cent to $73.58 a barrel.
On Monday, the Sensex had dropped 384.55 points or 0.47 per cent to settle at 81,748.57, while the Nifty had fallen 100.05 points or 0.40 per cent to close at 24,668.25.
