Sensex ends marginally lower; ICICI Bank falls 2%

The Sensex and Nifty ended lower for a third straight session on Thursday, due to capital outflows by foreign funds after the US Federal Reserve announced plan to wind down stimulus measures and hinted at another interest rate hike.

The broader NSE index closed down 19.25 points or 0.19 per cent at 10,121.90, while the benchmark BSE index lower by 30.47 points or 0.09 per cent at 32,370.04.

Heavy fall in rupee after the US Federal Reserve announced plans to wind down its crisis-era stimulus and hinted at another interest rate hike before the end of the year also dampened the trading sentiment.

The

Fed held interest rates steady and announced a plan to start shrinking its balance sheet by reducing its holdings of US Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

“After the Fed rate decision, Asian markets have come under slight pressure but it hasn't been a tipping point for Indian markets,” said Anand James, chief market strategist with Geojit Financial Services.

Sectoral indices

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index plunged 2.28 per cent, followed by consumer durables 1.43 per cent, PSU 0.84 per cent and banking 0.74 per cent. On the other hand, healthcare index was up 2.74 per cent and IT 0.18 per cent.

Gainers, losers

Top five Sensex gainers were Dr Reddy's (+7.47%), Cipla (+4.04%), Lupin (+3.02%), Sun Pharma (+2.59%) and HDFC (+1.37%), while the major losers were ICICI Bank (-1.99%), Axis Bank (-1.37%), Coal India (-1.09%), ONGC (-0.93%) and State Bank of India (-0.76%).

Dr Reddy's Labs rallied over 7 per cent as the company's CPS facility has cleared the USFDA audit.

“After the Fed rate decision, Asian markets have come under slight pressure but it hasn't been a tipping point for Indian markets,” said Anand James, chief market strategist with Geojit Financial Services.

MSCI's broadest dollar-denominated index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 per cent.

“From a domestic point of view, investors are locking in gains after the markets sustained at peak levels for a long time. The market is looking for further cues to push prices higher,” he added.

ICICI Bank fell as much as 2.4 per cent to its lowest since August 11, making it the top drag on both indexes.

The Nifty PSU bank index fell as much as 1.4 per cent, heading for a fourth session of fall in five, on profit-taking.

Andhra Bank Ltd fell more than 4 per cent and Oriental Bank of Commerce Ltd declined 2.9 per cent after eight straight sessions of gains.

The Nifty Pharma Index climbed as much as 2.7 per cent, with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd leading the way after brokerage Morgan Stanley raised its rating and price target.

Matrimony.com Ltd declined as much as 8.7 per cent to Rs 899.30 on its trading debut, compared with the IPO issue price of Rs 985.

The Nifty FMCG index dropped as much as 1.1 per cent, with ITC Ltd declining up to 1.3 per cent after two consecutive sessions of gains.