Sensex, Nifty End Modestly Lower On Hawkish Fed Remarks

Indian shares fell modestly on Thursday, with hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials and a rebound in oil prices denting sentiment.

Oil prices were up nearly 1 percent in European trade, after having fallen over 2 percent to hit their lowest since mid-July in the previous session on concerns over waning demand in the U.S. and China.

The dollar fluctuated while bond yields climbed after Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson on Wednesday said that high uncertainty could warrant an aggressive, rather than a gradual, policy response.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell didn’t comment on monetary policy or the economic outlook in prepared remarks at a conference on Wednesday. He will appear again on a panel discussing monetary policy challenges later today.

In the Middle East, investors remain hopeful that tensions will remain contained between Israel and Palestine.

Traders also reacted to inflation data from China showing that the world’s second-largest economy deflated in October due to weak consumer spending and a surprise slump in factory data.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down 143.41 points, or 0.22 percent, at 64,832.20 while the broader NSE Nifty index settled 48.20 points, or 0.25 percent, lower at 19,395.30.

ONGC, Tata Consumer Products, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever and Adani Enterprises fell 1-2 percent in the Nifty pack.

Among those that gained, Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 4.2 percent on expectations that the car and tractor manufacturer will report a healthy rise in Q2 earnings on robust sales.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise rallied 3.7 percent after Q2 profit rose in line with estimates.

IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corp and Coal India rose 1-2 percent.