Indian shares decline as Fed keeps hawkish stance
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Indian shares opened lower in early trades on Thursday, following losses in other Asian equities and Wall Street overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve threw cold water on hopes slowing the pace of interest rate hikes.
The NSE Nifty 50 index decline 0.34% at 18,022.05 as of 0350 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.34% at 60,699.94.
The Fed raised rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday as widely expected and said its battle against inflation will require borrowing costs to rise further.
On moving to smaller rate increases, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said "that time is coming and it may come as soon as the December meeting," while adding "no decision has been made" yet.
The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), scheduled to meet later in the day, is likely to discuss its response to the government after failing to meet its inflation target for three quarters in a row. However, Governor Shaktikanta Das said the RBI would not immediately make details of its report public.
In domestic trading, Nifty IT fell over 1% and was the top loser among other sectors.
Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Wilmar Ltd, and Hero Motocorp Ltd were up between 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively, ahead of their quarterly results later in the day.
