Markets open in red; Sensex fall 0.49%, trades at 59,319; Nifty down 0.5%

 Indian shares fell for a third straight session on Thursday, as global sentiment soured after minutes of the US central bank’s last policy meeting pointed to aggressive rate hikes and investors awaited cues from the Reserve Bank of India’s policy meeting on Friday.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.5% at 17,745, as of 0346 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.49% to 59,319.48.

Minutes of the Fed’s March 15-16 meeting, released on Wednesday, showed deepening concern among policymakers that inflation had broadened through the economy and need for tighter monetary policy.

Investors now await the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) three-day monetary policy meeting due Friday morning amid rising concerns of surging inflation.

Shares of Zee Entertainment fell more than 1% after U.S. investment firm Invesco said on Wednesday it plans to cut its stake in Zee by more than a third to 11%.

The Nifty Bank index fell 0.5% and the finance index dropped 0.7%. Both the indexes were down for a third straight day after gaining more than 4% on Monday.