Sensex, Nifty Decline For Second Straight Session; IT Shares Outperform

Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's over 1.5 per cent fall.

The Indian equity benchmarks declined for second straight session on Thursday mirroring losses in global markets after the US Federal Reserve hinted that it may raise interest rates at a much faster pace than assumed. The Sensex fell as much as 462 points and Nifty 50 index briefly dropped below its psychological level of 15,650 at the day's lowest level. HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were among the top drags on the Sensex. The Sensex ended 179 points to close at 52,323 and Nifty 50 index declined 76 points to end at 15,691. The Fed suggested that it would raise their benchmark short-term rate, which influences many consumer and business loans, twice by late 2023. The previous estimate was that there would be no rate hike until 2024. Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's over 1.5 per cent fall.