The Indian equity markets closed today’s session in the red, as investors tracked weak global cues due to the US Federal Reserve dousing hopes on any further rate cut in December. Investors also remained cautious of developments between US and China, as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at the Busan Airport to negotiate trade regarding rare earth minerals and other agreements.

Sensex declined by 530 points or 0.62% to 84,466.64, while the Nifty50 index could not hold the 25,900-mark, declining by 176 points or 0.68% to 25,880.10.

Leading today’s fall was Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which declined by nearly 4%, after it received a non-compliance notice from Pharmaceutical Drugs Directorate, Canada. The non-compliance notice was regarding their abbreviated new drug submission (ANDS) for semaglutide injection. The shares hit an intraday low of ₹1,180.90. Joining the top laggard was another pharma company, Cipla, which declined by 2.54%. Even HDFC Life declined by 2.01% to take the third spot from the bottom.

On the other hand, Coal India, Larsen and Toubro, and Hindalco led the charge rising up to 1.58%. Their rise in share price was on the back of positive Q2 results for the current fiscal year.

The market mood was cautious, as out of Nifty’s 50 constituents, only 10 advanced, and 40 declined. On the BSE Sensex index, 7 companies were in the green, while 23 closed in the red.

Broader markets reflected similar sentiments as that of the benchmark indices, with most indices ending in the red, except for Nifty Midcap 50 which closed marginally above by 0.10%.

Amongst sectoral indices, all except Nifty Energy and Realty ended in the positive territory, while IT, pharma and consumer durables continued their negative streak.

Individual stocks like Vodafone Idea declined 12% in intraday trade as the as the Supreme Court’s written order on the company’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues narrowed the scope of relief, as it clarified that the claim is restricted only to the additional (AGR) demand raised for the period up of FY2016-17.

Commenting on today’s volatile trade, Vikram Kasat, Head, Advisory, PL Capital said that despite resilient domestic liquidity and strong structural fundamentals, investors adopted a selective profit-booking approach, leading to sectoral rotation.

According to him, the Fed’s 25-bps rate cut delivered a mixed signal for Indian equities, as it has been largely priced in. “However, in the near term, the market may continue to consolidate, with domestic growth-linked sectors like financials and consumption better positioned, and globally exposed sectors such as IT and pharma likely to see higher volatility,” says Kasat.