At 14:33 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 241.15 points or 0.38% to 62,987.36. The Nifty 50 index fell 56.30 points or 0.30% to 18,699.60

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.25% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.14%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,706 shares rose and 1,776 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

Despite 'elevated' inflation, the US Fed opted to pause its aggressive interest rate hike campaign on Wednesday; although it did imply that another significant increase may be needed before the end of the year.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 0.20% to 7.025 from previous close of 7.011.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.0625, compared with its close of 82.0500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 August 2023 settlement slipped 0.92% to Rs 58,752.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 103.11.

The United States 10-year bond yield jumped 0.56% to 3.818.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2023 settlement rose 18cents or 0.25% to $73.38 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index fell 0.73% to 19,276.65. The index declined 0.99% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.43%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.33%), State Bank of India (down 1.1%), ICICI Bank (down 0.95%), HDFC Bank (down 0.94%), SBI Cards & Payment Services (down 0.82%), REC (down 0.75%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (down 0.6%), HDFC Asset Management Company (down 0.55%) and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 0.31%) declined.

On the other hand, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (up 1.81%), Indian Energy Exchange (up 1.78%) and Power Finance Corporation (up 0.82%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

KIOCL fell 0.26%. The company said that the operations of pellet plant unit of the company at Mangalore have been restarted today i.e., with effect from 15 June 2023.

FDC declined 0.40%. The company said that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has successfully completed its inspection at Aurangabad and Roha facility with classification of no action needed (NAI).

Cochin Shipyard gained 1.46% after the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Udupi Cochin Shipyard (UCSL) has secured an international order from Norway-based Wilson Shipowning AS, aggregating to Rs 580 crore.