Stock Market Today: Equity benchmark indices opened on a weaker note on Thursday
Stock Market Today: Equity benchmark indices opened on a weaker note on Thursday following losses overnight in the US markets post US Federal Reserve’s 25 bps rate increase.
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Key indices Nifty50 traded flat above 18,100 levels, whereas the S&P BSE Sensex gained over 50 points to trade around 61,254 levels.
Broader markets, too, were upbeat in trade as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices surged up to 0.5 per cent.
Sectorally, Nifty Metal, and Nifty PSU Bank indices gained the most, up to 0.7 per cent. On the flipside, Nifty Realty index lost up to 0.5 per cent.
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Global Cues
US stocks ended lower on Wednesday, reversing gains after comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left investors wondering what the U.S. central bank’s next move would be with interest rate hikes. Indexes initially held onto gains following the Fed’s statement. It increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, and signaled it could pause further hikes.
Global stock markets sagged while the Japanese yen rose on Thursday in reaction to the Fed’s policy statement and signs of stress at another U.S. regional bank, spurring investors to price in a pivot rather than just a pause in rate rises.
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Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart, said: “The US Fed hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, in line with expectations. However, Jerrom Powell’s commentary was a little confusing because he hinted at a pause but gave no sign of a rate cut in the future. He was not much concerned about the recession, while on the other hand, regional banks are facing strong selling pressure. The US market reacted negatively to it, but there is a sharp fall in crude oil prices, US bond yields, and the dollar index, which are positive for emerging markets. Technically, 18181–18230 is a critical supply zone for the Nifty, where we can expect some pullback, but bulls will remain in the driver’s seat till the Nifty holds the 17770 level.”
