Indian equity markets opened cautiously on Thursday, September 17, with the Nifty 50 trading at 23,250.55, up 32.95 points (0.14%) from its previous close of 23,217.60, after opening at 23,195.25. The Sensex opened at 74,182.62 against a previous close of 74,336.45, and was trading at 74,395.20, up 58.75 points (0.08%). The cautious opening follows the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a 3.75%–4% target range — its first hike since 2023 with Chair Kevin Warsh signalling that another increase remains likely this year. Wall Street closed lower, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq declining 0.7%, 1.3% and 0.4% respectively, while the US Dollar Index crossed the 100-mark and is hovering around 100.35.
The FMCG index gained 1.62% on Thursday, emerging as the best-performing sector despite broader market pressures. Among the top gainers, Patanjali Foods surged 7.43%, Colgate-Palmolive (India) gained 2.78%, Marico rose 2.73%, ITC advanced 2.62%, and Radico Khaitan climbed 1.99%. Other notable performers included Nestle India (up 1.63%), Tata Consumer Products (up 1.49%), Britannia Industries (up 1.49%), and Hindustan Unilever (up 1.44%). The sector's strong performance comes amid expectations of stronger festive consumption, with the NIFTY FMCG index soaring as much as 2% to hit an intraday high of 45,645.20 on September 16. The index had earlier reached an intraday high of 45,645.20 before settling at current levels, demonstrating continued resilience in the face of market volatility.
Among Nifty 50 gainers, BEL led with its stock trading at ₹392.30, up 1.70%, followed by Bajaj Finance at ₹1,019.50, up 1.32%. Asian Paints gained 0.96% to ₹2,439.90, Power Grid rose 0.89% to ₹265.15, and Reliance Industries added 0.89% to trade at ₹1,251.00. On the losing side, ONGC fell the most, declining 1.01% to ₹234.40, while HCL Technologies dropped 0.93% to ₹1,241.40, HDFC Bank slipped 0.88% to ₹715.15, Tech Mahindra fell 0.83% to ₹1,545.00, and Wipro declined 0.70% to ₹165.73. The IT index fell 1.55% on Wednesday, while banking showed resilience with Bank Nifty closing at 56,292.45, up 497.70 points (0.89%).
A key concern for Indian markets is sustained foreign institutional investor selling, with FIIs offloading equities worth approximately ₹2,000 crore on Wednesday, marking six consecutive days of net selling. However, domestic institutional investors partially absorbed the pressure, purchasing equities worth ₹3,900 crore. Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, flagged that the US House of Representatives passed a Russia sanctions bill by 262–159 votes, giving the White House authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that are major buyers of Russian oil, potentially including India. On the domestic inflation front, consumer price inflation rose to 4.82% in August from 4.45% in July, raising concerns about the Reserve Bank of India's policy trajectory, while India's 10-year government bond yield remains elevated near 7.09%.
Technically, the Nifty has declined more than 1,650 points from its August high of 24,772. Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Broking, noted that the RSI at 27.31 remains in oversold territory and that oversold conditions may support a technical rebound, although a sustained move above resistance is required for further recovery. Key support for Nifty is placed at 23,000–23,080, with resistance at 23,300–23,450. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, cautioned that "the short-term trend remains weak," adding that above 23,300 the pullback could extend towards 23,400–23,500, while below that level weak sentiment is likely to continue. The recovery lacks strong momentum as Brent crude remains elevated between $107 and 108 a barrel and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield held near 5% ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement.
