Sensex closes down 318 points, Nifty 1% lower on concern over Trump’s policies

Sensex dropped for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as banking and automobile shares fell. Asian stocks fell as worries on Donald Trump’s economic growth agenda provoked investors to dump risky assets looking for safe havens such as government bonds. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.3%.
On closing, the barometer index, the BSE Sensex, lost 317.77 points or 1.08% at 29,167.68, while the Nifty 50 index was down 91.05 points or 1% at 9,030.45. Stocks in the metal and banking sectors had rose up to a high extent. About 990 shares advanced, 1822 shares declined and about 194 shares remained unchanged.
Auto stocks lost traction with M&M Ltd and Tata Motors falling 2% and 1.4%, respectively, to pull down the NSE index. Bharti Airtel was among the top losers on both the NSE and BSE indices, dipping nearly 3%.

Nifty ends at record close 9150

Key Benchmarks ended the week end on a flat note after registering fresh highs intraday as investors are likely to have booked profits in the rally seen during the week. The BSE Sensex settled the day at 29,649, up 63 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 9,160, up 6.35 points or 0.07%. The market breadth was downbeat. About 1,225 shares advanced, while 1,593 shares declined, and 204 shares are unchanged.

The cigarette maker ITC rose over 7% at intra-day after the GST Council capped the tax on tobacco products.  ITC ended 4.6% higher along with other cigarette stocks such as Godfrey Phillips, and Golden Tobacco gained today on the BSE. Telecom index was the top sectoral laggards, going down 2.7% with Bharti Airtel dragging the index.  PSU banks and telecom stocks also witnessed a fall.

Overseas, European stocks edged lower since investors take a sigh from a global equity market rally that has pressed U.K stocks to record highs.

Sensex, Nifty tepid as Fed rate decision eyed

Benchmark indices continued to be indifferent in the afternoon trade as investors awaited Federal Reserve rate decision due tonight. The S&P BSE Sensex, was down 44.52 points or 0.15% at 29,398.11, while the Nifty 50 index was down 2.20 points at 9,084.80, on closing. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.06% and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.66%. Both the index outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, signaling the overall health, was positive. About 1,411 shares advanced against 1,398 declining shares on the BSE. A total of 188 shares were unchanged.
IT stocks were the main laggards today on surging rupee. BSE IT was down 1.8% dragged by TCS and Infosys going down 2% each and making them the big losers on BSE Sensex.
US stocks crossed lower yesterday, 14 March 2017, as a continual slump in oil prices that put pressure on energy shares and as investors await the outcome of the two-day Federal Reserve's policy meeting later today. The probable increase in interest rate would be the first of likely three this year.