Stock Market: Sensex Rebounds Sharply, Up 315 Points, Nifty Trades At 15,765; Auto, Financial Lead

Stock update: Maruti was leading the 30-share constituent, up 1.75 per cent, while ICICI Bank, RIL, ITC, HDFC, Bajaj Finance were the other gainers on the BSE

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Thursday rebounded sharply to open in the positive zone, snapping a four-day losing run and cheering 75 bps rate hike by the US Fed overnight. The Sensex jumped 600 points in early trade, later pared some of the gains.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a 75-basis-point interest rate hike, its highest in more than a quarter of a century, to tame surging inflation. 

At 10 am, the BSE Sensex was up 315 points to 52,856, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 15,765, up 74 points.

On the BSE platform, Maruti was leading the 30-share constituent, up 1.75 per cent, while ICICI Bank, RIL, ITC, HDFC, Bajaj Finance were the other gainers. On the flipside, PowerGrid was the top loser, down 1.67 per cent. TechM, L&T, Airtel, Kotak Bank were the other losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were also in the positive territory, up to 1 per cent higher. 

Sectorwise, all indices sat in green with notable gains. Nifty financials, PSBs, banks, auto realty, consumer durables, and oil & gas pockets led gains, up around a per cent each.

In previous session on Wednesday, the BSE benchmark settled 152 points (0.29 per cent) lower at 52,541, while the NSE Nifty declined by 39 points (0.25 per cent) to 15,692.15.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai were trading in the green, while Hong Kong quoted marginally lower.

Stock exchanges in the US ended with sharp gains in the overnight session on Wednesday.

Overnight gains in the US markets is expected to charge up local bulls, after the policy rate hike of 75 basis points by the US Federal Reserve came in as anticipated, said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

"Easing WTI crude oil prices could also boost sentiment, as domestic equities have been under severe bear hammering for the past few sessions due to relentless FII selling," he added.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.68 per cent to $119.32 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 3,531.15 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.