Sensex opens weak after US Fed left rates unchanged; pharma stocks shine

Sensex and Nifty opened flat on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and signaled one more hike by the year-end. BSE Sensex gained 6 points to open at 32406.42 points, NSE Nifty lost 1.5 points to open at 10,139.6 points. In line with expectations, the Fed said it would begin in October to cut its roughly $4.2 trillion in US Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities holdings by initially cutting up to $10 billion each month from the amount of maturing securities it reinvests.

Shares of Dr. Reddy’s (up 3.31%), Cipla (up 1.67%), Sun Pharma (up 1.49%), Lupin (up 1.26%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.07%), and Tata Steel (up 0.84%) were the major gainers on the benchmark Sensex today. The stocks of heavyweight companies such as HDFC, Dr. Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, and ITC contributed the most to the Sensex upsurge. Collectively these five stocks contributed about 37 points out of the 33 point gain in the index. The 30-share barometer Sensex was trading 45 points or 0.14% higher at 32,446.15 points. Most of the sectoral indices of NSE are trading higher led by Nifty Pharma with gains up to 1.48% except FMCG, IT, and media.

The US markets added further to close on new record highs after the Federal Reserve signaled it expects another interest rate hike by year-end and disclosed timing for reducing its balance sheet. The Fed left rates unchanged for now, as was widely anticipated, but investors’ expectations changed for December after the US central bank signaled one more rate hike by year-end despite recent weak inflation readings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19% to end at 22,412.59 points, its seventh straight record close. The S&P 500 gained 0.06% to 2,508.24 points, clocking its sixth record closing high in the last seven sessions. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.08% to 6,456.04 points, with Apple Inc as its biggest drag.

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)