India's benchmark stock indices ended at their highest in over a month on Thursday after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell played down the prospect of the need for more hikes after hiking policy rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday.
The Nifty ended above the 18,200 mark, while the Sensex was comfortably placed above the 61,700 level.
A few Asian markets were on course for their best day in about three weeks, helped by gains in Hong Kong shares. Stocks in mainland China whipsawed as they resumed trading after a three-day holiday.
European markets declined as investors studied a slew of earnings for clues on the state of the economy and prepared for a rate decision from the European Central Bank later on Thursday. Energy shares were the only European sector posting gains.
The S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, the Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed, and the futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.
Even as banking turmoil fears led to mounting pressure from lawmakers to pause, the Federal Open Market Committee delivered a quarter-point hike on Wednesday, taking the federal fund rates in the 5% to 5.25% range, the highest since 2007. Powell later in his speech said the Fed was open to questions about whether further increases would be warranted in an economy still facing high inflation but also showing signs of a slowdown.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 556 points, or 0.91%, higher at 61,749.25, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 166 points, or 0.92%, to end at 18,255.80.
HDFC Bank Ltd., HDFC Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., and TCS Ltd. were among the top gainers in the Nifty 50, whereas ITC Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd, and Tata Motors Ltd. weighed on the index.
The broader market indices ended higher, with the S&P BSE MidCap rising 0.82% and the S&P BSE SmallCap gaining 0.83% at the close of the market on Thursday.
Eighteen out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, while S&P BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods declined in trade.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 2,246 stocks rose, 1,275 declined, and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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