Stock Market: Sensex Gains Over 75 Points, Nifty Tops 19,800; M&M Drops 6%, Bajaj Finance Rises 1%

Stock Update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Airtel were trading in the green. On the downside, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, Reliance emerged as losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday, edged higher amidst strong global cues after the US Fed raised interest rates on expected lines. In the domestic equity market, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 79 points or 0.12 per cent higher at 66,786. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 42 points or 0.21 per cent to 19,820.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, and Tata Steel were trading in the green. On the downside, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, Reliance, Nestle India, and Axis Bank emerged as early losers.

Broader markets were also resilient, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indexes rising by up to 0.6 per cent. Following strong April-June quarter (Q1FY24) results, Nifty Pharma gained 2 per cent, followed by 8 per cent increases in Cipla. Among other stocks, shares of RVNL dipped 4 per cent after the government plans to divest stakes via offer for sale (OFS).

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 351 points higher at 66,707. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 hit a high of 19,826 before closing with a gain of 98 points at 19,778.

Asian markets declined as the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points, as predicted. Fed Chair Jerome Powell underlined the central bank's data-dependent approach to continued policy tightening and stated that it is "no longer forecasting" a recession. In early trade, the Nikkei 225 index was down 0.50 per cent, or 164.65 points, at 32,503.69, while the wider Topix index was down 0.38 per cent, or 8.63 points, at 2,274.46. The US stocks ended Wednesday with little changes following the hike with the Dow scoring a 13-day winning streak.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.03 per cent to $83.77 per barrel.

In early trade, the rupee gained 10 paise to 81.91 against the US dollar, reflecting the depreciation of the American currency in the offshore market. The local unit opened at 81.92 versus the US dollar on the interbank foreign exchange, then rose to 81.91, a 10-paise increase over its previous close. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 100.83. The rupee had finished at 82.01 per dollar on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 922.84 crore, according to exchange data.