Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 17 (ANI): Indian benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday following the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike. Nifty was holding above 23,200 while Sensex was up around 80 points during the early morning session. 

Both benchmark indices began the session with a gap-down opening. Sensex opened at 74,182.62 and was trading at around 74,416.72, up 80.27 points or 0.11 per cent against the previous close of 74,336.45. Likewise, Nifty was trading at around 23,250.85, up 33.25 points or 0.14 per cent against Wednesday's close of 23,217.60 at the time of reporting. 

All broad market indices traded in the green. Sectorally, most indices traded in the green while IT, bank, and media traded in the negative zone. 

On NSE, BEL, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Reliance, LT, ITC, NTPC, Hindalco, among others were top gainers. At the same time, ONGC, HCL Tech, Titan, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, among others, were the top losers. 

Similarly, on BSE, Eternal, BEL, Bajaj Finance, M&M, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Reliance, Power Grid, Indi Go, ITC, among others, were the top gainers. TCS, HCL Tech, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, among others were the top losers.

Rupee started the day on a strong note, breaching the Rs 96 per dollar mark for the first time since July 24, 2026. It opened at 95.99 against the US dollar compared to Wednesday's close of Rs 95.96. 

In the commodity market, Brent crude was trading at around USD 105.80 per barrel while crude oil was trading at around USD 102.35 per barrel at the time of reporting. 

Market analyst Vipin Dixena noted that the Indian market has opened under pressure today as investors digest the US Federal Reserve's 25-bps rate hike and its signal that another hike could come later this year. 

"The market has shown some ability to defend lower levels. What is interesting for me is that crude has actually cooled slightly, with Brent around $105, which provides some relief to India. Technically, 23,100-23,070 is the immediate support zone I am watching. If Nifty holds this area, we could see another attempt towards 23,400-23,500. But a decisive break below 23,070 would make 23,000 the next important level and keep the short-term structure weak," he said. 

Devarsh Vakil, HSL Prime Research, noted, "Attention now turns to the Bank of England's today's decision. Markets widely expect the BoE to hold its Bank Rate at 3.75% via a 6-3 vote, pricing in only a 30% chance of a surprise hike. Policymakers are seen as cautious ahead of the Autumn Budget, with Middle East tensions and elevated energy prices adding to inflation risk," he noted. (ANI)