Indian shares fluctuated before ending little changed on Friday as U.S. 10-year treasury yields rose for the third straight session and edged near three-month highs, following hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official.
Interest rate cuts should be delayed by at least another couple of months to see where prices are heading, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday.
“The risk of waiting a little longer to ease policy is lower than the risk of acting too soon and possibly halting or reversing the progress we’ve made on inflation,” he said.
Growing tensions in the Middle East also weighed on investors’ risk appetite.
Yemen-based Houthi rebels have added submarine weapons to their arsenal as they ramp up attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
In the last 24 hours, the Iran-backed rebels launched attacks on an Israeli city, a British cargo ship, and a U.S. warship.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex ended the session down 15.44 points, or 0.02 percent, at 73,142.80 while the broader NSE Nifty index settled 4.75 points, or 0.02 percent, lower at 22,212.70.
ONGC, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India, HCL Technologies and BPCL all fell over 1 percent while financials HDFC Life, SBI Life and Bajaj FinServ all rose over 1 percent.
Market Analysis
Sensex, Nifty End Choppy Session Marginally Lower
2024-02-23 10:25:59
