Sensex up 400 pts, at 81,900, Nifty at 25,100; Tata group stocks mixed

Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading higher on Thursday, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street, along with gains in the Asia Pacific region.

At 10 AM, the BSE Sensex was up 343 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 81,810, while the Nifty 50 was at 25,082, up 100 points, or 0.4 per cent.

At opening bell, four stocks, including Tata Motors (down 1.42 per cent), followed by Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, and Reliance Industries, were the only stocks in the red, while Larsen & Toubro (up 1.45 per cent), followed by NTPC, Power Grid Corp., Adani Ports & SEZ and Axis Bank, were the top gainers.

On the Nifty 50, 44 out of the 50 stocks were trading higher, with gains led by Hindalco Industries (up 1.10 per cent), followed by Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Life, ITC, and Eicher Motors. Among the losers were Tata Motors (down 2.64 per cent), followed by Adani Enterprises, Hindustan Unilever, and SBI.

Across sectors, the Pharma and Healthcare indices were under pressure, while all the other sectoral indices were trading higher.

Broader market indices were also trading higher, with the Nifty Midcap 100 climbing 0.43 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.49 per cent.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly higher, following gains on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hit life highs as investors shook off geopolitical concerns.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 2..68 per cent, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.81 per cent and CSI 300 was up 0.54 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 0.5 per cent higher, and South Korea’s Kospi was ahead by 0.52 per cent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.66 per cent.

Meanwhile, back home in India, benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 pared their gains to settle in negative territory on Wednesday.

Investors in India would would have their eyes peeled for the second quarter results of IT bellweather TCS which kicks off the earnings season for India Inc, even as stocks of the Tata group would be in the spotlight following the demise of the group’s Chairman Emeritus, Ratan Tata, on the intervening night of Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Sensex had declined 167.71 points, or 0.21 per cent, to settle at 81,467.10. The index traded between the range of 82,319.21 and 81,342.89 on Wednesday, after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced to hold policy rates at 6.5 per cent, but changed the policy stance from ‘Withdrawal of Accomodation’ to ‘Neutral’.

The wider Nifty 50 index also pulled back by 31.20 points, or 0.12 per cent, to close at 24,981.95. The index traded in the range of 25,234.05 and 24,947.70 in the previous trading session.

In the broader markets, the NSE Smallcap 100 climbed 1.33 per cent, and the NSE MidCap index gained 0.97 per cent, outperforming the benchmark indices.

That apart, sectoral indices ended the trading session broadly in the green, except for Bank Nifty, FMCG, Private Bank, and Oil & Gas.

The Nifty Pharma and Realty indices outperformed other sectoral indices, surging over 2 per cent each.

Sector-wise, Pharma and Realty led the gains, jumping over 2 per cent each.

Meanwhile, global stocks advanced on Wednesday along with US Treasury yields, as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting indicated more rate cuts, while investors awaited inflation data for further clues on the central bank’s interest rate path.

Minutes from the meeting showed a “substantial majority” of US Federal Reserve officials supported beginning an era of easier monetary policy with an outsized half-point rate cut, but there appeared even broader agreement that the initial move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of rate reductions in the future.

US stocks added to gains after the minutes, with both the Dow and S&P 500 closing at record levels.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 431.63 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 42,512.00, the S&P 500 rose 40.91 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 5,792.04 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 108.70 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 18,291.62.

Investors have scaled back expectations for aggressive rate cuts by the Fed after last week’s strong US jobs report. They will also monitor inflation data on Thursday in the form of the consumer price index (CPI) for insight on the Fed’s rate path, while the corporate earnings season kicks off with bank earnings on Friday.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe advanced 3.61 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 848.39 and was on track for a second straight session of gains.

In Europe, the STOXX 600 index closed up 0.66 per cent, buoyed in part by automakers.

A rally in China stocks short-circuited, with both the Shanghai Composite index and CSI300 index suffering their biggest one-day percentage drops since February 2020.

China’s main information office said the finance ministry will detail plans on fiscal stimulus to boost the economy at a news conference on Saturday.

US yields were higher in the wake of Logan’s comments and the Fed minutes, as well as an auction of 10-year notes.

The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes gained 3.8 basis points to 4.073 per cent while the 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 4.3 basis points to 4.022 per cent.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, climbed 0.42 per cent to 102.92.

Crude prices fell for a second straight session on rising US crude inventories.

US crude settled down 0.45 per cent to $73.24 a barrel and Brent fell to settle at $76.58 per barrel, down 0.78 per cent on the day.