The Indian stock market is likely to open lower on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates overnight for the first time in three years.

Asian markets opened higher on Thursday, while US stock futures declined following the outcome of the Fed’s policy meeting.

Indian equity markets ended higher on Wednesday, tracking gains across regional markets as optimism around the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision supported investor sentiment.

Domestic Market Recap

On Wednesday, Indian indices ended green:

• Sensex gained by 332.63 points (0.45%) to close at 74,336.45.
• Nifty 50 moved up by 99 points (0.43%) to settle at 23,217.60.

Gift Nifty

Gift Nifty was trading near 23,242, around 30 points lower than the previous Nifty futures close, hinting at a muted start for Indian markets.

Overnight Wall Street Performance

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 631.21 points (1.21%) to close at 51,461.90.
• S&P 500 was down by 33.92 points (0.45%), ending at 7.551.81.
• The Nasdaq Composite was lower by 3.15 points (0.01%), finishing at 25,978.42.

Crude Oil Prices

• Brent crude slumped by 1.20% to $104.59/barrel
• US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading 1.14% lower at $101.29/barrel

Overnight Major Global Events Driving Sentiment

1. Rupee breaches ₹96: The Indian rupee slipped past ₹96 per dollar today, its weakest level in more than a month. The currency is being pressured by the combination of higher US rates, elevated crude prices and continued foreign outflows. A sustained fall in the rupee could increase imported inflation and complicate the RBI’s monetary-policy outlook.
2. US Fed rate hike: The US Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 25 bps to 3.75%-4%, marking its first rate increase since 2023. More importantly for markets, 16 of 18 Fed policymakers indicated that at least one more 25-bps hike could be needed this year.

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