US fed rate hike: Sensex falls 141 points, rupee tumbles by 42 paise in early trade

Continuing to slide for the second consecutive session, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 141 points to 26,462.18 in early trade on Thursday amid a weak trend in Asian bourses as the US Fed hiked interest rates by a quarter percentage point and indicated more to come next year.

The Fed interest rate hike also resulted in Rupee to tumble by 42 paise to 67.85 against the US dollar due to appreciation of the American currency globally.

The gains in the dollar against other global currencies and a lower opening in the domestic equity markets weighed on the rupee, forex dealers said.

The domestic unit had gained 11 paise to close at 67.43 in yesterday’s trade on positive sentiment triggered by lower inflation and fresh selling of the American currency by exporters.

The 30-share barometer was trading down by 140.66 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 26,462.18. The gauge had lost about 95 points in the previous session.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Asian Paints, ITC Ltd, Coal India and Hindustan Unilever were the major losers that pulled down the key indices.

The NSE Nifty fell by 60.50 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 8,121.95.