Indian Stocks Fall for Third Session as Bond Yields Rise Ahead of Fed Decision

Indian equities closed lower on Wednesday, extending losses for a third consecutive session as surging bond yields weighed on sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later in the day. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 275.01 points, or 0.32%, to 84,391.27, while the NSE Nifty index dropped 81.65 points, or 0.32%, to 25,758. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes declined 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively. Market breadth was weak, with 2,294 shares falling, 1,895 advancing and 148 unchanged. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.2%, a three-month high, and the dollar held near a one-week high. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter point, though uncertainty over the longer-term outlook persists amid a cooling job market, sticky inflation and data gaps from the government shutdown. Eternal lost nearly 3% and Trent shed 1.7%, while ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Bharti Airtel each fell about 1%.