Sensex, Nifty Off Day's Lows; Financials Drag

(RTTNews) - Indian shares opened lower on Thursday amid weak global cues and the expiry of weekly F&O contracts.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 164 points, or 0.3 percent, at 59,292, after having hit a low of 58,973 earlier in the session.

The broader NSE Nifty index also traded off its day's lows at 17,671, down 47 points, or 0.3 percent, from its previous close.

Recession worries gripped world markets after Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates by 75 bps for the third consecutive time and forecast they would reach 4.6 percent in 2023, stepping up their fight to curb inflation that's persisted near the highest levels since the 1980s.

The Indian rupee weakened to a new record low beyond 80 per dollar, as yields surged, and the dollar hit a fresh two-decade high against major peers.

Cipla, Bajaj FinServ, HDFC Bank, SBI Life and HDFC fell 1-2 percent in the Nifty pack, while Shree Cement, Eicher Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports and ITC all traded up over 1 percent.

Wipro fell about 1 percent after saying it has sacked 300 employees who it discovered were working for its competitors while still being on the company's payroll.

Adani Ports gained 1.4 percent on news it will develop a port in India's West Bengal state at a planned investment of more than $3 billion.

HDFC Bank declined 1.2 percent. The private sector lender has signed a long-term data and technology agreement with London Stock Exchange group's Refinitiv.

State Bank of India edged down slightly after raising Rs 4,000 crore via a bonds issue.

Triveni Engineering & Industries dropped 1 percent. The sugar firm has sold its entire 21.85 per cent stake in Triveni Turbines for about Rs 1,600 crore.