In line with other Asian peers, domestic benchmark indices surged up to 0.71% on Wednesday, buoyed by dovish comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who signaled another 25-basis-point rate cut and hinted at an end to the Fed’s quantitative tightening. The appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar and better-than-expected quarterly earnings also lifted investor sentiment.
After two consecutive sessions of decline, the Sensex rebounded 575.45 points, or 0.70%, to close at 82,605.43, while the Nifty jumped 178.05 points, or 0.71%, to end at 25,323.55.
Across Asia, barring Indonesia, all major equity indices ended in the green. South Korea led the gains with a 2.68% rise, followed by Hong Kong (up 1.84%), Taiwan (up 1.80%), Japan (up 1.76%), and Thailand (up 1.6%). China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 1.22%, while Singapore and the Philippines recorded modest gains of up to 0.32%.
“The US 10-year yield declined while the rupee strengthened, indicating a potential shift in FII flows toward emerging markets like India, which could influence the domestic market trajectory in the short to medium term,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. He added that realty stocks outperformed due to expectations of lower interest rates and attractive valuations, while positive global cues supported IT and metal counters.
“The up move was also driven by some easing in US-China trade tensions and a rebound in the rupee from recent lows,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking. “A stable start to the earnings season and rating agencies reaffirming their positive outlook on India helped offset lingering concerns about global growth and trade risks,” he added.
Market breadth was positive, with 2,510 gainers versus 1,652 losers on the BSE. Outperforming the benchmarks, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices advanced 1.07% and 0.78%, respectively.
Investors gained ₹4.10 lakh crore in wealth as the total market capitalisation on the BSE rose to ₹463.8 lakh crore. All sectoral indices on the BSE closed in the green, led by realty with a 3.06% gain. Telecom, consumer durables, services, and utilities also advanced, rising up to 2%.
Among the 30 Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, L&T, and Trent were the top gainers, climbing up to 4.03%.
