NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on September 17

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Thursday, September 17, as indicated by NIFTY futures traded at Gift City in Gandhinagar. GIFT NIFTY futures declined 32 points to 23,240 amid mixed cues from global markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their two-day losing streak on Wednesday powered by gains in banking and financial services shares after the government announced a revised framework for Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) fee, under which 0.4% charge, capped at ₹300 per transaction, will apply to specified person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000.

The SENSEX ended 333 points higher at 74,336 and NIFTY50 index advanced 99 points to close at 23,218.

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note after US Fed hiked interest rates. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.45%, China's Shanghai Composite index declined 0.37%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1% and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 0.22%.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended lower on Wednesday after US Federal Reserve's FOMC hiked its main interest rate for the first time in three years and suggested more may be ahead as it tries to get the nation’s high inflation under control.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.21%, S&P 500 index fell 0.45% and tech heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.01%.

Crude oil update

Brent crude futures declined 1.5% to an intraday low of ₹104.21 after reports suggested Saudi Arabia is offering ‌extra crude cargoes through Oman, reducing the fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹2,032.61 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth ₹3,908 crore, as per NSE data.

FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹17222 crore taking the total quantum of selling to ₹2,41,663 crore for 2026, data from NSDL showed.

Stocks to watch

The company stated that cenobamate is being launched for the first time in India, where an estimated 94 lakh people live with epilepsy.

NeuCeno is a once-daily oral therapy available in strengths ranging from 12.5 mg to 200 mg tablets.

The Healthcare Services Agreement (HSA), executed by Fortis Hospotel Ltd (FHTL), has a committed term of 29 years, extendable on mutually agreed terms. The hospital is expected to commence operations in 3-4 years, subject to requisite approvals.

Manuel will step down as Managing Director on November 29 as part of a planned leadership transition, but he will continue as Senior Strategic Advisor until May 15 next year to ensure continuity across the company's strategic priorities, Blue Dart said.

The proposed facility will have an annual shipbuilding capacity of at least 1.2 million gross tonnes, enabling the construction of large commercial vessels and supporting an ecosystem of ancillary industries, MSMEs and technology partners. The project marks Mazagon Dock’s expansion beyond its core defence shipbuilding business into large-scale commercial shipbuilding.

The levy on petrol exports was reduced to ₹0.50/litre from ₹1.50, while the total levy on diesel was cut to ₹20/litre from ₹25 and that on ATF to ₹15/litre from ₹19.

The move is likely to improve export economics and support refining margins for companies with higher exposure to overseas fuel sales, while there is no change in duties on petrol and diesel sold domestically.