Sensex, Nifty Settle Lower On Interest Rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended lower on Tuesday, with the Sensex going down for a third straight session, as data showing a stronger than expected acceleration in U.S. services sector activity raised concerns the Federal Reserve will continue with its aggressive rate hike moves for now.

Already, last Friday's data showing a rebound in non-farm payrolls employment had triggered speculation about another possible sharp rate hike by the U.S. central bank.

Investors, looking ahead to the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, stayed largely cautious.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 208.24 points or 0.33 percent at 62,626.36, after having tumbled by over 440 points earlier in the day.

The broader Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange, which dropped to a low of 18,577.90, settled at 18,642.75, down 58.30 points or 0.31 percent.

Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Infosys, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra lost 1 to 2.5 percent.

Adani Enterprises, up nearly 2.5 percent, was the top gainer in the Nifty. Bajaj Auto, Grasim Industries and Britannia Industries also ended higher.

Hind Unilever climbed 1.3 percent. UltraTech Cement, Power Grid Corporation and Nestle gained 0.75 to 1 percent.

BPCL drifted down nearly 3 percent. Hindalco ended 2.6 percent down, while UPL, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Hero Motocorp and ONGC lost 1 to 2 percent.

In economic news, the World Bank raised its gross domestic product growth forecast for India in the current financial year to 6.9 per cent from 6.5 per cent, on the back of the economy's relative resilience to external headwinds, and the 'strong outturn' in the July-September quarter.

The World Bank had cut India's FY23 GDP forecast to 6.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent in October.