Mumbai, India (BBN)-The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading higher by nearly 180 points and the NSE index Nifty above the 8,200-mark on positive global cues after US Fed minutes suggested a less hawkish stance from policymakers.
Brokers said the domestic sentiment was buoyed due to value-buying in blue-chips and a firm trend in Asia boosted by overnight gains in the US, reports The Hindu Business Line.
The US shares rose after minutes of Federal Reserve’s December meeting signalled a less aggressive stance on rate hike.
At 10.45 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 177.43 points or 0.67 per cent at 26,810.56 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 54.2 points or 0.66 per cent at 8,244.70.
Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index gained the most by 1.56 per cent, oil & gas 1.55 per cent, infrastructure 1.42 per cent and PSU 1.22 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Motors (+2.7 per cent), Adani Ports (+2.41 per cent), ONGC (+2.11 per cent), Wipro (+1.89 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (+1.61 per cent), while the only two losers were M&M (-0.72 per cent) and HDFC (-0.29 per cent).
A report by SMC global said: “Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday, underpinned by a firm Wall Street after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting suggested a less hawkish stance from policymakers.
US shares ended higher on Wednesday even after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed concerns that quicker economic growth under President-elect Donald Trump could require faster interest rate increases to ward off inflation.
The FOMC minutes suggested a less hawkish stance from policymakers.
However, the FOMC dot plots project three interest rate hikes in 2017.
However, the market is less optimistic with Fed Fund futures pricing in two hikes as The FOMC minutes noted upside risk to growth forecasts and uncertainty over the level of fiscal stimulus.”
BBN/SK/AD