Indian equity indices opened Thursday’s trading session on a higher note for the third consecutive session, as domestic sentiments were boosted by the US Fed rate cut. The NSE Nifty 50 opened 90 points or 0.36% higher at 25,420. The BSE Sensex opened 350 points or 0.42% higher at 83,040.
On the same verge, Bank Nifty opened 214 points or 0.39% higher at 55,707. Similarly, the small and midcap stocks opened the day higher. The Nifty Midcap rose 119 points or 0.20% to open at 58,968.
“The Fed chief Jerome Powell described the 25 bp rate cut as a “risk management cut”. The focus of the Fed commentary is the uncertainty surrounding economic activity, unemployment and inflation. Since the labour market is cooling and the GDP growth projection for 2025 is only 1.6%, perhaps two more cuts are possible this year, even though the Fed chief categorically stated that “ the policy is not on a preset path.” The softening interest rate scenario is favourable for the market to remain bullish,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
Further, he said that the Indian stock market is unlikely to be impacted by the Fed decision. The ongoing rally in the market is driven by expectations of earnings revival and a positive outcome from the India-US trade negotiations.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, stated that 25,275 and 25,200 are key support areas for trend-following traders. As long as the market trades above these levels, the uptrend is likely to continue, he added. On the upside, the index could move towards 25,400-25,500.
Let’s take a look at the key factors to watch out for today’s trading session
Early gainers and laggards
In early trade, among the Nifty 50, top gainers at this hour were Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, and Tech Mahindra. On the flip side, the key laggards in the Nifty 50 pack included Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, Apollo Hospitals, UltraTech Cement, and Bharat Electronics.
Major movers on Thursday
The stocks that were the major movers in the opening trade included Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki, which were the major movers in the morning trade.