Share market today: The two key equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday hit their all-time highs following US Federal Reserve announced a 50 bps rate cut on Wednesday evening. At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex 637 points to 83,585. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 25,590, rising 213 points. The US Federal Reserve’s decision on rate cut signalled a larger-than-anticipated move to ease borrowing costs.
"The big Fed rate cut by 50 bps has the potential to take equity markets into a consolidation phase with an upward bias. The rate cuts by the Fed will pave the way for rate cuts in India, too," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. More rate cuts are expected from the Fed, going forward, Vijayakumar added.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC, Axis Bank, Titan, Infosys, Airtel, HDFC Bank emerged early gainers. On the down side, HCLTech and Bajaj Finserv are the only two losers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap rose 0.59 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap advanced 0.43 per cent.
Sectoral update
All 13 sectoral indices were trading positively, with Nifty IT leading the rally. The IT index rose by 1.5 per cent, boosted by gains in Infosys, TCS, and LTIMindtree. Nifty Bank also gained nearly 1 percent, supported by HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank. Realty index jumped 1.10 per cent.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex declined 131 points to end at 82,948, while the NSE Nifty50, which scaled a record high of 25,482, settled at 25,378, dropped 41 points.
Global update
In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong rallied, while Seoul quoted marginally lower. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,153.69 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.07 per cent to $73.60 a barrel.
Rupee gains 6 paise
The rupee rose 6 paise to 83.70 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, reflecting strong investor sentiment after the US Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rate in line with market expectations. The rupee also got support from lower crude oil prices, positive domestic equity markets as well as inflow of foreign funds, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the Indian currency opened at 83.70 and inched up to 83.69 before trading at 83.70 against the greenback, registering a gain of 6 paise from its previous closing level. On Tuesday, the local unit had gained 10 paise to settle at 83.76 against the US dollar.