Sensex Rises Over 260 Points, Stalling A Two-Day Losing Streak
Indian equity benchmarks reverse a two-day losing streak to rise sharply in early trade on Thursday, tracking advances in global equities following solid US economic data.
However, the hawkish tone from the minutes of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest policy meeting could limit gains.
The 30-share BSE Sensex index rose 262.59 points to 61,329.83 in early trade, and the broader NSE Nifty-50 index opened in the green, reflecting the optimism in other Asian indices and global risk assets.
“Markets are likely to see a positive opening in early Thursday trades thanks to a sharp rally in the US indices overnight, which in effect is having a rub-off effect on Asian gauges,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President for Research at Mehta Equities.
“However, investors need to be careful of the sharp intra-day volatility seen in the last few sessions due to growing uncertainty over rising Covid cases in China and recessionary fears in key economies with more interest rate hikes going ahead, further adding to the concerns. Other factors, such as rising oil prices and the dollar gaining strength, could dampen market sentiment,” he added.
Wall Street stocks surged after data revealed that consumer confidence in the largest economy in the world hit an eight-month high in December. However, existing house sales fell 7.7 per cent in November, continuing their downward trend for a tenth straight month and reinforcing recessionary fears.
Asian stocks climbed, cheered by Wall Street’s gains, which extended to other risk assets globally.
But a surge in crude prices could limit the domestic equity markets gains as India imports over 85 per cent of its oil needs.
The hawkish comments from the RBI’s December policy meeting minutes may also limit gains in domestic equities.
A majority of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members agreed that the RBI cannot “afford to prematurely pause its rate tightening cycle” with inflation remaining “unconscionably elevated.