The Indian stock market extended gains on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve left its key interest rates unchanged, although a growing number of policymakers indicated a rate hike later this year.
Sensex rose around 274 points to close at 77,928 while Nifty gained around 67 points to end the session at 24,317. Broader markets, however, ended the session in the deep red, with Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices falling up to 0.6%.
Here are today’s top gainers on Nifty
Here are today’s top gainers on Sensex
Here are today’s top losers on Nifty
Here are today’s top losers on Sensex
What lies ahead for Dalal Street?
The Fed's decision to maintain the status quo on rates was largely anticipated, but hawkishness remained due to continued emphasis on inflation control, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. He added that a sharp uptick in US bond yields signalled growing pressure for a possible rate hike in the near future, keeping global investors on edge, while renewed crude oil volatility amid West Asian tensions added to external uncertainty.
"As a result, domestic equities remained range-bound with sharp intraday swings, as investors weighed global headwinds against resilient domestic fundamentals. Nonetheless, strengthening FII inflows, a firmer rupee, and encouraging Q1FY27 supported sentiment, prompting investors to treat dips as selective buying opportunities," according to the analyst.
The Nifty remained largely range-bound as the index failed to give a clear directional move, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. He noted that index has been sustaining above the critical 50 EMA on the daily timeframe.
"Besides, the RSI is in a bullish crossover and continues to trend higher, supported by a rising trendline. Sentiment is likely to remain positive in the short term, with the potential to rise towards 24,500. On the lower end, immediate support is placed at 24,200, below which the index might lose its current momentum," the analyst further said.
