Sensex, Nifty end lower after 8-day rally; all eyes on US Fed interest rate decision

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Benchmarks closed lower on Wednesday, halting an eight-day rally, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and mixed global market trends.

The decline in major indices such as Reliance Industries, Tata Consulting Services, Infosys, Larsen and Toubro led to a weak trend in stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex index fell 161.41 points, or 0.26 percent, to settle at 61,193.30 points. On the day, it fell by 330.27 points, or 0.53 percent, to 61,024.44 points.

The broader NSE Nifty index fell 57.80 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 18,089.85 points.

Biggest losers and winners

Of the Sensex companies, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel were the major laggards.

Among the winners were Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Ultra Tech Cement, ITC and Nestle.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong closed lower, while Shanghai settled in the green.

European stock markets were trading mostly in the green. US markets closed lower on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, fell 2.08 percent to 73.75 Indian rupees per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Tuesday buying shares worth Rs 1,997.35 crore, according to exchange data.