Sensex, Nifty End Off Day’s Lows

Indian shares cut early losses to end modestly lower on Thursday.

Weak global cues weighed on sentiment as Middle East tensions grew, and robust U.S. retail sales data eroded expectations the Fed will begin its rate-cut campaign by March.

Positive cues from Europe coupled with a dip in the dollar index and yields helped limit the downside in the broader markets.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex hit a low of 70,665.50 in intraday trade before cutting losses to end the session down 313.90 points, or 0.44 percent, at 71,186.86.

The broader NSE Nifty index finished 109.70 points, or 0.51 percent, lower at 21,462.25, after having hit a low of 21,285.55 earlier.

LTIMindTree led losses to close down nearly 11 percent after reporting a fall in Q3 operating margin.

Power Grid Corp, Titan Company, HDFC Bank and NTPC fell 2-3 percent.

Among those that gained, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Cipla, Tech Mahindra and Sun Pharma rose 1-3 percent.

Traders have trimmed their bets for the Federal Reserve rate cut by March, following hawkish comments from several Fed officials including Governor Christopher Waller.

That said, markets still price in around 145 basis points of cuts by the end of the year.

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