Wall Street equities closed lower overnight after the
Fed raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Signs of
stress at another regional bank in the U.S., PacWest Bancorp,
also weighed on global markets. "It seems like this is the last rate hike," said Hemang
Jani, head of equity strategy, broking and distribution at
Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
"Expect the Fed rate hike to not have a material impact on India due to RBI's rate pause and weakness in crude oil prices."
Brent crude futures hovered around $73 per barrel, on global demand concerns, U.S. debt default negotiations and the Fed rate hike. Both Brent and WTI crude have lost 10% since the start of the week.
The fall in oil prices is a positive for importers of the commodity like India, where crude constitutes a significant share of the country's import bill. Shares of
Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd and
ABB India Ltd jumped 8% and 4%, respectively, as investors reacted to strong March quarter results.
On the flip side, Petronet LNG Ltd lost
5% after reporting a fall in quarterly profit.
($1 = 81.6740 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
