Sensex ends 80 pts lower as US Fed rate hike, hawkish stance weigh; Nifty settles below 9,600

Mumbai: Equities slipped back into the red Thursday after a 2-day positive spell as the Sensex declined over 80 points and the Nifty cracked below 9,600, with investors treading with care after the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike. “Fed’s 25 bps rate hike was on the expected lines, but the domestic market slid due to the Fed’s hawkish view to trim its balance sheet with one more rate hike during the year despite weakness in economic growth… sector-specific ups and downs may remain as GST implementation is round the corner,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd. The BSE 30-share Sensex, after opening higher, scaled a high of 31,229.44, but slipped to end lower by 80.18 points, or 0.26 percent, at 31,075.73. The index had moved up 60.21 points in the last two sessions. The NSE Nifty after shuttling between 9,621.40 and 9,560.80 settled at 9,578.05, down 40.10 points, or 0.42 percent. [caption id=“attachment_2411792” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Caution took hold after the US Fed raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points and announced plans to start cutting down its balance sheet, and on an overnight slump in crude prices. The rupee’s vulnerability came to the fore, which crashed 23 paise against the dollar to 64.53 after the US Fed action. Fears of a deeper political turmoil in the US hit risk sentiment after reports suggested that President Donald Trump is being investigated by a special counsel for alleged obstruction of justice. Shipping Corporation of India soared to its one-year high and settled 7.62 percent higher following reports that NITI Aayog has proposed strategic sale of about 26 percent stake in the company. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 71.65 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 161.13 crore yesterday, provisional data showed. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated. The Shanghai Composite index rose. Europe was trading in the negative zone. Back home, of the 30-share Sensex pack, TCS plunged the most (2.42 percent), along with L&T, ONGC, M&M and Coal India. Among sectoral indices, oil and gas declined by 1.15 percent followed by PSU, IT and technology. Realty firmed up 2.16 percent, followed by healthcare.