India News | Markets Extend Gains Despite Fed Overhang; Bank Stocks Shine

Mumbai, Sep 20 (PTI) The Sensex and Nifty chalked up gains for the second straight session on Tuesday, propelled by across-the-board buying despite concerns over aggressive rate hikes by global central banks to tame inflation.

The US Federal Reserve along with its Swiss and British counterparts will announce their policy decisions later this week amid fears of the global economy tipping into recession due to rising interest rates.

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The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 578.51 points or 0.98 per cent to settle at 59,719.74. During the day, it rallied 964.56 points or 1.63 per cent to 60,105.79.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty went higher by 194 points or 1.10 per cent to end at 17,816.25. In intra-day trade, it advanced 297.05 points or 1.68 per cent to 17,919.30.

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Sun Pharma was the top gainer among the Sensex constituents, spurting 4.71 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, Tata Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints.

Only four counters closed in the red -- Nestle India, PowerGrid, Infosys and Reliance Industries, shedding up to 0.64 per cent.

"The weakness of western markets did not affect the buoyant domestic market. The Indian market is not seemingly apprehensive of Fed policy. Buying on dips is the strategy being reinforced here. Even the lagging IT and pharma stocks joined the rally, slowly emerging as a value pick for long-term investors.

"However, to sustain the trend, the global market needs to stabilise. It makes sense to be stocks and sector specific in this unfavourable global economic scenario and highly premium valuation of India compared to the rest of the world," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said markets gained for the second consecutive day amid supportive global cues.

"We believe all eyes will be on the FOMC meeting scheduled tomorrow. So, the Fed rate decision will dictate the market trend going ahead. Meanwhile, investors will continue to monitor global cues, crude and currency movement," he added.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap index rallied 1.65 per cent and the smallcap gauge jumped 1.01 per cent.

All the BSE sectoral indices ended in the green, with healthcare jumping 2.81 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.17 per cent), auto (1.59 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.47 per cent), metal (1.34 per cent) and commodities (1.29 per cent).

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended higher.

European equity markets were trading in the negative territory in mid-session deals. The US markets had ended with gains on Monday.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.49 per cent to USD 92.45 per barrel.

The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 7 paise higher at 79.74 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned buyers as they bought shares worth a net Rs 312.31 crore on Monday, according to data available with the BSE.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)