Indian share markets closed their Wednesday session on a flat note.

At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 2 points and the NSE Nifty finished down by 6 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap and S&P BSE Small Cap both finished down by 0.1%.

Most of the selling pressure was seen in automobile stocks and consumer durables stocks. Meanwhile, gains were seen in capital goods stocks and healthcare stocks.

Top Stocks in Focus

Stocks from the telecom sector are said to be in focus today as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) yesterday announced to halve the so-called interconnect usage charge (IUC) to six paise with effect from 1 October. The development will come as a big blow to older telecom firms. On the other hand, the move comes as a potential boost to newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

Divis Laboratories share price will also be in focus today. The stock surged over 9.5% yesterday after the company said that all the previous observations by US drug regulator regarding Unit-2 of its Visakhapatnam facility have been confirmed as completed and resolved.

Market participants will also be tracking stocks of domestic tyre companies. This comes as the government imposed anti-dumping duty on import of certain type of radical tyres used in buses and trucks to protect domestic manufacturers from below cost imports from China. The ban has been imposed for five years. Domestic tyre companies such as JK Tyre, TVS Srichakra, Ceat, and Apollo Tyres will benefit from the above development.

Bulk and Block Deals

Bank of Baroda share price rallied yesterday as the stock witnessed a block deal in intraday trade. The stock witnessed 51 million shares worth Rs 7.6 billion trade in a block on BSE at Rs 146.40 per share yesterday.

Federal Reserve's September Policy Meeting

Stock market participants will also take cues from the ongoing Federal Reserve policy meeting on whether the central bank will raise interest rates for a third time this year.

US Federal Reserve rate hikes generally have a negative impact on emerging economies. But India is currently seen as better equipped than other emerging markets to ride the impact of higher US interest rates. That's largely because of its stronger economic growth and impressive foreign exchange reserves of more than US$300 billion.

Foreign portfolio investors may not drain funds from India in a knee-jerk reaction to the Fed rate hike, as that would mean missing out on the enormous growth opportunities Indian markets offer.

Oil Prices Rise on Cues for Extended Output Cuts

Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday after Iraqi oil minister said that OPEC and its partners are considering extending output cuts aimed at reducing a global supply glut.

One shall note that the OPEC and non-OPEC producers including Russia have agreed to reduce crude oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until March in order to reduce global oil inventories and support prices.

The group is now in talks to extend the above expiry in March.