The SENSEX Index Closes 0.03% Lower

India’s BSE Sensex closed virtually unchanged at 74,314.6 on Thursday after a volatile session, hovering near its lowest level since June as caution prevailed amid elevated oil prices despite their recent moderation. At the same time, traders weighed the Fed’s latest move and hawkish stance while also dealing with strong activity in the IPO market. Banks faced selling pressure, with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank down 1.3% and 1%, respectively. In the meantime, Titan declined 1.1%, SBI fell 0.7% and Bharti Airtel shed 0.5%. On the flip side, Tata group stocks outperformed, adding between 2.3% and 5.5%, after the board of Tata Sons approved a fresh five-year term for N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman. Tata Steel climbed 2.8% to the top of the index. Apart from these, other top gainers included BEL (2.4%), IndiGo (2.3%), Eternal (2.2%), Maruti (1.6%) and Asian Paints (1.5%).

The SENSEX Index fell 22 points or 0.03 percent on Thursday to close at 74315 points. Leading the losses are Titan Company (-1.30%), HCL Tech (-0.77%) and HDFC Bank (-0.75%). Top gainers were Tata Motors (4.58%), Eternal Limited (2.73%) and Tata Steel (2.27%).

India’s BSE Sensex edged up about 0.3% to 74,531 on Thursday, although the upside remained limited by a weaker rupee, elevated oil prices and caution over the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. Investors balanced high oil prices against easing supply concerns after Saudi Arabia offered additional cargoes. The rupee remained under pressure, with traders watching the 96-per-dollar level as high oil prices and foreign outflows weighed on the currency. Investors also assessed the Fed’s first rate hike in more than three years, to 3.75%-4.00%, with another increase signalled for later this year. Focus remained on the $2.3 billion National Stock Exchange IPO, open through September 21 at 1,700-1,785 rupees per share, valuing the exchange at about $46 billion. Information technology stocks fell the most, down about 0.4%, amid concerns over softer US demand for Indian software services, with eMudhra (-1.8%) and PB Fintech (-4.3%) declining, while Pine Labs (2.2%) and Netweb (0.3%) gained.