Indian benchmark indices — Sensex and Nifty 50 — are likely to open lower on September 20, Wednesday, tracking global cues. GIFT Nifty was trading at a discount of nearly 100 points from Nifty Futures Monday close, indicating a gap-down start, which indicates the domestic market.

In early trade, Asian stocks struggled for headway while 10-year US Treasury yields stood at 16-year highs as surging oil prices drove inflation. In the overnight session, meanwhile, equities on Wall Street closed lower.

It must be noted that Indian markets will react to two days of global cues from Monday as well as Tuesday. In two days, US’ Dow and Jones has lost a percent and the S and P 500 has slipped a percent while the tech heavy NASDAQ has declined by 1.8 percent.

Crude prices hit a high of $95.96 per barrel yesterday and settled below 95 on the count of profit booking, but it's still at a 10-month high, which is a bit of a worry.

Among other global cues to track is the Fed decision, due later in the day, which will be crucial. It is likely that there will be no rate change policy this time but the commentary will be very important.

In the domestic market, bank stocks will be in focus, especially HDFC Bank. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the reappointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as MD and CEO of the lender till October 26, 2026. The firm also held an analysts meet on Friday where it indicated that HDFC’s individual gross NPA ratio stood at 1 percent for the June quarter compared to 0.75 percent in March, while non-individual gross NPA ratio saw a sharp spike from 2.9 percent in March to 6.7 percent in June.

Tune in to the Marketbuzz Podcast for more news and cues ahead of today’s session