Stock market today: The domestic equity market ended in the red on Thursday, thereby snapping a three-day rally after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday left rates unchanged as anticipated but hinted at the possibility of more hikes later this year.

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The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 62,917.63 levels, down 311 points, or 0.49 per cent while the NSE's Nifty slipped 68 points, or 0.36 per cent to close at 18,688.10 levels.

"Correction came into play after 3-session gains and the Sensex closed below the 63,000 mark, as a hawkish comment by the US Federal Reserve indicating the possibility of two more rate hikes fuelled pessimism in the markets. After a rate hike pause, investors were expecting a more dovish stance, but the Fed's comments on interest rates left the markets disappointed," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.

Broader market 

The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 closed higher by 0.21 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively.

Sectoral Watch 

Nifty Bank slipped 544 points, or 1.24 per cent to 43,444 levels. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top losers. 

The banking sector has been disappointing in the past few sessions, as it did not participate in the broader market rally. With today's price action, the short-term charts appear distorted. On the daily chart, prices have fallen below the 20-day exponential moving average (20-EMA), which had been a strong support level recently, said Rajesh Bhosale, technical analyst at Angel One.

"This break below the 20-EMA does not bode well for bullish sentiment. Considering today's bearish momentum, we may observe more weakness in the near future, with the next support level around the 50-day simple moving average (50 SMA) at around 43,150, followed by the swing low of 42,600 recorded in May. On the upside, the previous support level of 43,700–43,800 will now act as immediate resistance. Traders should take note that this recent weakness is merely a price correction and that the overall trend remains positive. Any further dips should be seen as buying opportunities," the analyst added.

The Nifty IT also closed over half a per cent lower at 28,699. Realty, financial services, and metal indices also ended in the red. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma closed over 1 per cent higher.

Buzzing stocks 

Godrej Properties held its gains, while DLF and Oberoi Realty saw sharp falls in today's trading session. Shares of Hero MotoCorp slipped over 5 per cent from their highs on reports of the Corporate Affairs Ministry initiating a probe against the company. Pharma and FMCG stocks supported the headline index. Apollo Hospitals, Britannia, and Nestle hit record highs. Zydus Life Sciences extended its winning streak and rose 3 per cent to close at a 52-week high.

PVR Inox stock also gained nearly 3 per cent on expectations of a good response for the Adipurush movie. Strong air traffic data led to a gain of over 2 per cent in InterGlobe Aviation's (IndiGo) stock. Reports of a change in management supported L&T Finance Holdings as the stock closed nearly 5 per cent higher.

Conversely, IT heavyweights extended Wednesday’s losses, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro were down 1 to 2 per cent.

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