S&P 500 falls as investors employment cost index, Fed Reserve’s decision; GIFT Nifty trades lower

The US markets pared away from the previous day’s gains and declined marginally on April 30 as investors await the reports on the employment cost index for the first quarter (Q1) and consumer confidence, to be released later during the day. At 8:15 pm, the S&P 500 was down 0.21 percent at 5,105.33 and the Nasdaq Composite also declined 0.21 percent to 15,949.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.33 percent to 38,258.85.

The Federal Reserve began its meeting on Tuesday, displaying no signs of rate cuts anytime soon as the inflation remained above the 2 percent mark.

The GIFT Nifty also followed the weak cues from the US markets and declined 0.14 percent to 22,718.00.

The European markets traded mixed with the FTSE up 0.29 percent at 8170.40. On the other hand, the CAC fell 0.63 percent to 8,014.53 and the DAX declined 0.60 percent to 18,009.24.

Earlier during the day, the Asian markets were led by the Nikkei, ending 1.24 percent higher at 38,405.66. The Hang Seng traded flat-to-positive at 17,763.03.

The Indian indices however took to red, the Nifty was down 0.17 percent at 22,604.85 and the Sensex ended 0.25 percent lower at 74,482.78.

DIIs net purchased Rs 1,429.11 crores and the FIIs/FPIs net purchased Rs 1,071.93 crores.

Crude fell owing to weak global cues, WTI was down 1.42 percent at $81.40 and Brent traded 0.85 percent lower at $87.65.