Indian stocks ended lower on Tuesday, November 18, with both benchmark indices slipping over 0.40% as a sharp sell-off in metals and tech stocks dragged the market down. Although select heavyweights provided some support, it wasn’t enough to offset the broader weakness, bringing an end to the Indian market’s six-day winning streak.
The sharp rise in the US Dollar Index triggered profit booking in both metal and tech stocks, leading to a 0.47% drop in the Nifty 50 to 25,892, while the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.38% to close at 86,625.
The broader market closed with even deeper cuts, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling 0.60% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropping more than 1%.
Global sentiment turned weak as fading expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month weighed on investor appetite ahead of delayed U.S. economic data releases scheduled for this week.
The prolonged U.S. government shutdown, which ended last week, had resulted in a suspension of key economic data, leaving policymakers and traders navigating without vital indicators ahead of next month’s Fed policy meeting.
Hopes that the resumption of data releases would strengthen the case for a December rate cut dimmed further after more Fed officials signalled caution.
Markets are now awaiting a slew of delayed U.S. data releases this week, including September jobs data and the minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting—where it cut rates by 25 basis points—due on Wednesday.
(more to come)