The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday closed higher amid strong gains in the Asian market following the US Fed signalled a pause in rate hike cycle. The S&P BSE Sensex, which touched a high of 64,203, eventually closed 490 points up at 64,081. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,133, up 144 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Infosys, Airtel were the lead gainers. On the downside, only Bajaj Finance and TechM emerged losers. Among specific stocks, Tata Steel, went down a per cent after Q2 result. Real estate stocks were buzzing as the Nifty Realty index leaped to its highest level in 15 years on strong housing demands.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rallied over 1 per cent each.
Sectrowise, all the indices ended in the positive zone, with metal, capital goods, FMCG, power, oil & gas, realty up 1-2 per cent each.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex dropped 284 points to 63,591, while the NSE Nifty 50 finished at 18,989, down 90 points.
"A pause with dovish commentary from the Fed led to a rebound in the global and domestic market sentiment. Further, the fall in US bond yields indicates a prolonged pause in interest rate hikes," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong ended in the green while Shanghai settled lower. European markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended with gains on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.67 per cent to $86.12 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,816.91 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Indian rupee stayed range-bound and settled 2 paise higher at 83.26 against the US dollar on Thursday as the American currency retreated from its elevated levels after the US Federal Reserve was a bit dovish in its policy meeting. Forex traders said the local unit got support from positive domestic equity markets and risk-on sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.23 and finally settled at 83.26 against the greenback, registering a gain of 2 paise from its previous close.
During the day, the rupee witnessed range-bound trade reaching the peak of 83.19 and hitting the lowest level of 83.27 against the American currency. On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 83.28 against the US dollar and had hit an all-time low level of 83.35 against the American currency during intra-day.