FX.co ★ Sensex Moves in the Red

India's stock market experienced a downturn on Wednesday morning as shares declined by 145 points or 0.2%, settling at 76,627. This movement interrupted the upward trend observed over the prior two trading sessions, with the decline primarily driven by weaknesses in the metals, tech, and auto sectors. The BSE Sensex mirrored an overnight decline in the U.S., where major indices like the S&P 500 and Dow Jones were adversely affected due to uncertainties surrounding tariff policies. The U.S. heightened investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, aiming at imposing tariffs for national security reasons, which contributed to market apprehension. Yet, the impact of this was somewhat mitigated by domestic inflation data released on Tuesday, revealing consumer prices increased at their slowest rate since August 2019. This rate was below the Reserve Bank of India's midpoint target of 4%, fostering optimism for potential future interest rate reductions. Meanwhile, investors prepared for the upcoming release of Q4 earnings, particularly anticipating results from tech giant Wipro. The Nifty 50 index saw a minor decrease of 0.1%, settling around 23,300, with significant losses recorded by companies such as Maruti Suzuki (-1.7%), Infosys (-1.4%), JWS Steel (-1.3%), Sun Pharmaceuticals (-1.1%), and Tata Steel (-1.1%).