India's benchmark stock indices advanced through Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates on Wednesday. The indices snapped two days of losses, as realty and metal sectors were the top gainers.
Sensex slipped nearly 200 points below the day's high, whereas Nifty ended over 50 points below its high.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 490 points up, or 0.77%, at 64,080.90, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended 144 points, or 0.76%, higher at 19,133.25.
NSE Nifty 50 closed above the 19,100 level and S&P BSE Sensex ended above the 64,000 mark.
The Nifty is likely to pick momentum only upon successful close above 19,200 level, said Apurva Sheth, head of market perspectives and research, SAMCO Securities. "The immediate support for Nifty is placed at 18,800 level. A break below the same can further intensify the ongoing short-term selling pressure until 18,500 levels."
From the valuation and growth perspective, leading banks provide good buying opportunities, said Dr VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services Ltd.
"I.T. can stage a comeback (going forward). Automobiles, capital goods, select pharma and construction-related segments will do well. There is lot of investor enthusiasm in digital stocks like Zomato and Paytm," he said.
In the near-term, the dollar index at around 106, Brent crude at around $85 and the 10-year U.S. bond yield at 4.75% are favourable for stock markets globally, according to Vijayakumar.
"There is a possibility that the FIIs who were sustained sellers in October may turn buyers and if that happens, short-covering can take markets higher despite the uncertainty surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. The fact that Brent crude has corrected sharply from the recent peak of $93.5 to $85 now, indicates that the market doesn't expect the Israel-Hamas conflict to widen impacting crude prices," he said.
Rates-sensitive real estate stocks led the advance in Europe's Stoxx 600, which is set for its longest winning streak since July. U.S. equity futures pointed to an extension of Wednesday's gains on Wall Street, as Asian stocks headed for their biggest gain in almost four months.
Equity benchmarks advanced across the region from Sydney to Hong Kong, with tech firms at the forefront.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell left the door open for further hikes in the central bank's Wednesday decision, but noted that financial conditions have “tightened significantly in recent months, driven by higher, longer-term bond yields, among other factors.”
Axis Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. were positively adding to the changes in the Nifty.
Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd., ONGC Ltd. and Tech Mahindra Ltd. were weighing the index down.
The broader market indices outperformed larger peers; the S&P BSE MidCap was up 1.20%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was 0.97% higher.
All 20 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced. S&P BSE Realty and S&P BSE Telecommunication rose the most.
The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. About 2,333 stocks rose, 1,312 declined, while 146 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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