Sensex Drops 1,100 Points as US Fed Signals Caution on Rate Cuts

The Sensex dropped over 1,100 points in early trading on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve signaled caution about further interest rate cuts, despite already reducing rates by 0.25% for the third time.

This caused investor wealth to fall by Rs 6.57 lakh crore, bringing the total market value to Rs 446.03 lakh crore, down from Rs 452.60 lakh crore.

The Sensex fell to 79,020, down by 1,162 points, and the Nifty dropped to 23,944, down by 259 points.

The market was weak, reflecting global market trends. Stocks like Asian Paints, M&M, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, and Tech Mahindra led the losses, falling by up to 2.09%.

Additionally, 45 stocks hit their 52-week lows, while 79 stocks reached their 52-week highs.

Out of 3,342 stocks traded, 970 went up, while 2,263 went down. Around 98 stocks hit their lower circuit limits (falling too much), while 99 stocks hit their upper limits (rising too much). The midcap index fell by 298 points, and the smallcap index dropped by 332 points.

Foreign institutional investors sold Rs 1,316.81 crore worth of shares, while domestic investors bought Rs 4,084.08 crore worth of shares.

On Wednesday, the Sensex and Nifty ended lower for the third straight day. The Sensex lost 502 points (0.62%) to close at 80,182, and the Nifty dropped 137 points (0.56%) to close at 24,198.95.