Sensex, Nifty decline in early trade

MUMBAI: Stock market opened lower on Thursday, with benchmark index Sensex declining nearly 150 points amid mixed global cues and broader concerns over the US Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 149.95 points or 0.25 per cent to 60,198.14 points, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 29.75 points or 0.17 per cent to 17,724.65 points.

As many as 17 constituents of the Sensex, including Reliance, TCS and HDFC were trading in the negative territory.

Mixed trends were witnessed in the Asian markets, with Japan trading higher while China declining.

On Wednesday, the US market also witnessed mixed trends as the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was yet to make a decision on the size of a potential interest rate hike later this month, despite strong labour market data and a rise in inflation.

In a pre-market note, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said Asian equities were muted on Thursday after a choppy US session saw major benchmarks post modest gains as investors weighed the outlook for interest rates, he noted.

On Wednesday, Sensex closed 123.63 points higher at 60,348.09 points while Nifty gained 42.95 points to end the day at 17,754.40 points.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), on Wednesday, made net investments worth Rs 3,671.56 crore.