Sensex down 263 pts, Nifty near 17,700 ahead of US Fed outcome; FMCGs shine

CLOSING BELL: The losses, meanwhile, were led by the Nifty Metal index (down 2 per cent), and the Nifty Pharma index (1.4 per cent)

MARKET LIVE: Sensex falls 250 pts; Nifty below 17,750; ITC, HUL up 2%

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Equity investors booked profit on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy outcome, which is due later tonight. The Fed is largely expected to hike the policy rate by 75 basis points, but there is a mild possibility of 100-bps hike as well, analysts said.

That apart, Russian President Vladimir Putin's partial military mobilization in Russia, which has put the country's people and economy on a wartime footing as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine continued, also kept risk appetite in check.

Against these woobly global cues, the S&P BSE Sensex fell around 444 points in the intra-day day. The index recouped some of the losses to end 263 points, or 0.44 per cent, lower at 59,457.

The NSE Nifty50, on the the other hand, bounced back from a low of 17,663.60 to end at 17,718, down 98 points or 0.55 per cent. In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices mildly underperformed the frontline indices as they fell 0.7 per cent, and 1 per cent, respectively.

Among sectors, the Nifty FMCG index was the sole gainer, rising 1.2 per cent. The losses, meanwhile, were led by the Nifty Metal index (down 2 per cent), the Nifty Pharma index (1.4 per cent), and the Nifty Oil & Gas index (1.2 per cent).

4:14 PM

Dollar hits two-decade high as Putin rattles markets before Fed rate hike

Putin ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its "nuclear blackmail" that Moscow would respond with might of all its vast arsenal. READ MORE

4:10 PM

GLOBAL CHECK: European markets exhibit strength

4:05 PM

GLOBAL CHECK: US equity futures perk up ahead of FOMC outcome

4:02 PM

MARKET COMMENT: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Markets across the globe were trading with considerable volatility ahead of the Fed policy announcement. A 75bps hike by FED was factored in by the markets, while reports of mobilising Russian forces in Ukraine has escalated geopolitical tension and fears of rising inflation. Any military escalation will have a significant effect on the world & domestic economy. This will have an influence on the near-term trend of the global market and implications on local market can be high as it is trading at premium prices compared to the world.

3:58 PM