Sensex, Nifty Drift Lower In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - Indian shares traded lower on Thursday as investors reacted to hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and a mixed bag of U.S. tech earnings.

Investors also eagerly await the outcome of a highly anticipated meeting today between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that reportedly lasted longer than scheduled.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 515 points, or 0.6 percent, at 84,481 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index dropped 147 points, or 0.6 percent, to 25,906.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories slumped 4.8 percent after the approval for its Semaglutide injection was delayed.

United Breweries dropped 2 percent on reporting a 65 percent decline in its September quarter consolidated net profit.

LIC Housing Finance fell 2.6 percent as it reported a marginal 2 percent improvement in September quarter net profit.

Vodafone Idea plummeted 9 percent due to uncertainty over the extent of relief pertaining to a Supreme Court order on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues.

Coal India was little changed despite reporting a 32 percent fall in its Q2 net profit.

Larsen & Toubro rallied 2.5 percent as it reported a 16 percent rise in quarterly profit.

Bharat Heavy Electricals jumped 2 percent after tripling its quarterly profit. Dilip Buildcon gained 2.4 percent on securing a subcontract worth Rs. 307.08 crore from ISC Projects Pvt. Ltd. in the Chakradharpur Division of South Eastern Railway.