The benchmark indices opened higher tracking positive global cues after the US Federal Reserve hinted that it may begin easing its extraordinary support measures for the economy later this year. The Sensex was up 351.37 points or 0.60% at 59,278.70. The broader Nifty was up 115.10 points or 0.66% at 17,661.80. About 1398 shares have advanced, 256 shares declined, and 75 shares are unchanged.
The 30-share Sensex was trading 487.42 points or 0.83 per cent higher at 59,414.75. Similarly, Nifty surged 142.50 points or 0.81 per cent to 17,689.15 in initial deals.
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising nearly 2 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank.
On the other hand, Titan and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,943.26 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.
The Nifty closed marginally lower on September 22 after a day when the index swung between gains and losses. At close Nifty was down 0.1% or 18 points to 17544.
Nifty could not build on to gains of the previous day although the concerns around Evergrande have subsided. 17623 on the upside is a crucial level over which momentum could pick up. 17444 is the support for the Nifty.
US stocks close high
US stock indexes closed out their best day in two months Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the central bank may announce a pullback of its bond purchases in November and could start to raise interest rates in 2022, with both moves largely expected by market participants.
The committee now sees GDP rising just 5.9% this year, compared with a 7% forecast in June. However, 2023 growth is now set at 3.8%, compared with 3.3% previously. The longer-term outlook for policy interest rates, which currently stand in a range between 0% and 0.25%, now shows benchmark interest rates potentially climbing as high as 1.8% by the end of 2024.
Investor concerns about financial contagion from a potential default by China’s giant property company Evergrande have somewhat abated, but investors are also watching developments in the U.S. Congress on raising the federal debt ceiling. Investors remain wary as Evergrande still faces interest payments on bonds in coming days.
Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday raised interest rates by 100 basis points and flagged a third straight hike of that size in October as it battles surging inflation with the world’s most aggressive monetary tightening. The bank’s rate-setting committee, known as Copom, decided unanimously to raise its benchmark rate to 6.25% (vs 2% at the start of the year) as forecast by most economists in a Reuters poll.
Asian shares trade high
Asian shares moved higher on Thursday, supported by some positive news from struggling developer China Evergrande Group. However, investors remained on edge about Evergrande’s future, with a major test to come later on Thursday when $83.5 million in dollar-bond interest payments are due.
