Sensex zooms 500 pts on opening, Nifty breaches 15800; ICICI Bank, RIL among top gainers

Domestic markets soared higher on Thursday morning amid positive global cues. S&P BSE Sensex rose more than 500 points on the opening bell while NSE Nifty 50 was above 15,800.

Bank Nifty was also in the green while India VIX dropped 5.9%, to sit below 21 levels. Reliance Industries was the top Sensex gainer, followed by Maruti Suzuki India, and ICICI Bank. Power Grid was the top laggard, accompanied by Bharti Airtel and Nestle India.

The US Federal Reserve, in an attempt to tame inflation, hiked interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday. The massive rate hike was the biggest since 1994 as the Fed tried to curb rising prices with inflation at a 40-year high in the US. The target range for the federal funds rate was increased from 1.5% to 1.75%. The US Fed has also signalled that FOMC will keep hiking rates aggressively. US Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that another 75 bps of 50 bps hike could come in the next FOMC meeting.