Sensex dips 111 pts as BoJ, Fed verdicts loom

Mirroring global weakness, the Sensex fell 111 points today, halting its four-day winning run, and the NSE Nifty broke below the 8,800-mark as investors turned cautious ahead of key policy meetings of the US Federal Reserve and Japanese central bank.

Meanwhile, the consensus is that the Fed will leave rates unchanged, but investors are looking for commentary and the guidance for the next interest rate hike.

"Investors are widely expecting status quo on interest rate, however, any hawkish commentary from the Fed may divert the liquidity to safe haven assets and add volatility to the domestic market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Meanwhile, calling the reform process slow and gradual with muted private investment and NPAs posing a challenge, Moody's said it could upgrade India's rating in 1-2 years if it is convinced that reforms are "tangible".

In stock specific action, Jubilant FoodWorks plunged 6.08 per cent to Rs 944.15 following news that its CEO and Whole- time Director Ajay Kaul will resign to pursue opportunities outside the company.

The 30-share index declined by 111.30 points or 0.39 per cent to 28,523.20 after shuttling between 28,698.81 and 28,480.53. The gauge had gained 281 points in the previous four sessions on positive global cues.

The wider NSE Nifty slipped below the 8,800-mark and hit a low of 8,759.30 before settling 32.50 points or 0.37 per cent to 8,775.90. Intra-day, it touched a high of 8,816.45.

Market stayed in the negative almost throughout the day as participants were seen trimming positions to book profits in recent gainers coupled with caution across the global ahead of Fed and Bank of Japan policy meets this week.

In line with the overall trend, the small-cap index shed 0.26 per cent, while the mid-cap lost 0.09 per cent.

Other Asian markets too closed lower and European shares were down as sentiment across the globe remained muted.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.16 per cent, while China's Shanghai Index shed 0.10 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.08 per cent down.

London's FTSE was down 0.20 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX was flat, while France Paris CAC 40 was 0.30 per cent lower. 

Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 ended lower while 11 led by ONGC, Tata Steel, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, Lupin, Power Grid, HDFC, Asian Paints and Dr Reddy's finished higher.

Hero MotoCorp suffered the most among Sensex constituents by plunging 2.43 per cent to Rs 3,468.10, following by Adani Ports by 2.16 per cent to Rs 270.15.

Other big losers included Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, NTPC, HUL, Infosys, GAIL, RIL, Sun Pharma and SBI, falling by up to 2.15 per cent.

Sector-wise, BSE realty index fell the most by 1.94 per cent followed by power 0.75 per cent, auto 0.62 per cent, capital goods 0.53 per cent, FMCG 0.52 per cent, infra 0.45 per cent and IT 0.42 per cent.

Market breadth turned negative as 1,513 stocks ended in the red while 1,197 finished higher and 209 ruled steady.

Total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 5,380.47 crore up from Rs 3,615.78 crore yesterday.