Sensex, Nifty off to a choppy start post Fed rate hike; NTPC, Bharti Airtel rise

NEW DELHI: Benchmark equity indices opened on a cautious note on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve decided to increase rates by 25 basis points.

The BSE Sensex was trading 17.64 points, or 0.06 per cent, down at 31,138 around 9.40 am (IST).

Shares of Central Bank of India plunged 2 per cent on reports that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put the bank under prompt corrective action in view of high net non-performing assets (NPA) and negative return on assets (RoA).

On the other hand, the Nifty 50 was down 24.95 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 9,593.20 with Bank of Baroda (down 1.24 per cent), Coal India (down 0.99 per cent) and YES Bank (down 0.80 per cent) dragging the index.

The BSE Smallcap index outpaced other indices, trading 31 points up at 15,619.82 with shares of Shipping Corporation of India, Sunil HiTech and Signet India surging up to 11 per cent. Midcap index was 10 points up at 14,809.77.

Bharti Airtel (up 1.26 per cent), Adani Ports (up 1.21 per cent) and Reliance Industries (up 0.60 per cent) contributed to gains with Reliance topping the list in terms of most active stocks in volume.

Asian peers were also trading lower as risk sentiment was hit by fear of more US political turmoil after media report indicated that US President Donald Trump is being investigated by a special counsel for possible obstruction of justice. Investigators are investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump's legal team denounced the report.