Indian equity markets faced a steep decline on Thursday, closing in the red amid weak global cues. The sell-off was primarily triggered by the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on interest rates, which led to a major shift in expectations for 2025. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) slashed the number of rate cuts anticipated for next year, fueling concerns about the economic outlook.
At the close of trading, the Sensex stood at 79,218.05, down by 964.15 points, or 1.20 percent. The Nifty 50 settled at 23,951.70, losing 247.15 points, or 1.02 percent.
Market experts noted a broad-based decline in Indian stocks, largely reflecting the global sell-off following the Fed’s decision. The sectors most sensitive to interest rates, notably banking and real estate, were among the hardest hit.
Despite the widespread market weakness, there was a slight reprieve due to the Bank of Japan’s surprise decision to keep interest rates unchanged, which helped reduce some of the selling pressure. However, investor sentiment remained cautious, with ongoing Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) selling prompting a shift towards defensive sectors like pharma. This trend was reflected in the outperformance of pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks, which showed resilience amid the broader market decline.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the broader market saw 1,684 stocks end in the green, while 2,309 closed in the red. A total of 102 stocks saw no change in their prices.
Among the sectoral indices, the biggest losses were in IT, metal, and energy stocks. On the flip side, pharma and healthcare stocks attracted some buying interest.
Within the Sensex pack, top losers included Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, TCS, Infosys, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra. Meanwhile, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, and Power Grid emerged as the top gainers.
