Benchmark indices which dropped sharply on Wednesday, fell even further, as the US Federal Reserve signalled the possibility of a December rate hike. The US Federal Reserve observed that job gains remained solid and also expressed hopes that inflation would reach the targeted 2 per cent.

The Sensex was trading with losses of 21 points, while the Nifty lost 12 points in early trade. Among the early Nifty losers were Tata Motors and Tata Motors DVR. Shares in ONGC fell, after a sharp drop in the prices of crude oil. The stock was down 2 per cent in trade at Rs 272.

PSU Banking stocks which had seen sharp cuts on Wednesday continued to fall. Among the losers were Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank Bank and Syndicate Bank.

Shares in State Bank of India recovered, after the steep fall seen on Wednesday, following the downgrade by a leading brokerage firm.

Midcap stocks were absolutely flat, though stocks like Voltas and Dish TV were among the early losers.

Meanwhile, the rupee continued to show remarkable resilience and was trading at 66.70 to the US dollar. Despite a sell-off in equities, the rupee has shown good strength.

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