Market Highlights, Sept 18: Sensex, Nifty retreat from record highs, end in red ahead of Fed outcome

Stock Market Highlights: As many as 33 constituent stocks on the Nifty50 ended in the red, dragged by TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro, with a fall of up to 3.50 per cent

Stock Market Highlights, Wednesday, September 18, 2024:  Benchmark equity indices, the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, retreated from record high levels to settle in the red on Wednesday, ahead of the US Fed policy decision scheduled to be announced later in the day.

The BSE Sensex shed 131.43 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 82,948.23. The index had hit a fresh high level of 83,326.38 during intra-day trade on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty also scaled a record high level of 25,482.20 before ending Wednesday's session at 25,377.55, down 41 points or 0.16 per cent from its previous close.

As many as 33 constituent stocks on the Nifty50 ended in the red, dragged by TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro, with a fall of up to 3.50 per cent. Conversely, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, and HDFC Bank were among the 19 Nifty50 stocks that ended higher, with gains of up to 4.22 per cent on Wednesday.

From the BSE space, 19 constituent stocks on the Sensex ended lower, dragged by TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, and Sun Pharma, down up to 3.46 per cent. Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, and HDFC Bank ended in the green with gains of up to 3.36 per cent.

The Nifty index was the top laggard among the setoral indices, settling with a loss of 3.05 per cent, dragged by Mphasis, TCS, and Persistent Systems. 

In contrast, financial and banking sectors bucked the trend, with Nifty Financial Services, and Bank Nifty indices ending higher by 1.40 per cent and 1.06 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Nifty Private Bank, and PSU Bank indices also eked out gains of up to 0.96 per cent.